Witch Hunt

Pronunciation: /wɪtʃ hʌnt/

Definitions of witch hunt

noun an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight or doubtful evidence

Example Sentences

A1 She believed the witch hunt was a waste of time and resources.

A2 The villagers started a witch hunt after a series of mysterious events.

B1 The politician accused the media of conducting a witch hunt against him.

B2 The company faced a witch hunt from competitors trying to tarnish their reputation.

C1 The investigation turned into a witch hunt, targeting innocent individuals.

C2 The government's actions were seen as a witch hunt to suppress dissenting voices.

Examples of witch hunt in a Sentence

formal The investigation turned out to be nothing more than a witch hunt with no evidence of wrongdoing.

informal Everyone knows that the audit is just a witch hunt to try and find something wrong.

slang The whole thing is just a witch hunt to make someone look bad.

figurative The media's constant scrutiny of the celebrity's personal life felt like a witch hunt.

Grammatical Forms of witch hunt

• plural: witch hunts
• present tense: witch hunts
• future tense: will witch hunt
• perfect tense: have witch hunted
• continuous tense: is witch hunting
• singular: witch hunt
• positive degree: witch hunt
• infinitive: to witch hunt
• gerund: witch hunting
• participle: witch hunted

Origin and Evolution of witch hunt

First Known Use: 1601 year

Language of Origin: English

Story behind the word: The term 'witch hunt' originated during the witch trials in Europe and America during the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, where individuals, mostly women, were accused of practicing witchcraft and subsequently persecuted.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the term 'witch hunt' has evolved to refer to any situation where a group of people are unfairly targeted and persecuted for their beliefs or actions, often without evidence or justification.