mccarthyism
NounUS[muh-kahr-thee-ih-zuhm]/məˈkɑrθiɪzəm/5 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- unscrupulously accusing people of disloyalty (as by saying they were Communists)Type of witch-hunt
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pedanticadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
McCarthyism prop. n.
Origin: from Senator Joseph McCarthy, who repeatedly asserted without evidence that numerous communists were present in the United States government.
Unscrupulously accusing people of disloyalty (as by saying they were Communists).
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, WordNet 1.5