witch-hunt

Definition

A search for people believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, typically in order to persecute or punish them.

Etymology

From witch + hunt.

Example Sentences

• "To-night ye will see. It is the great witch-hunt, and many will be smelt out as wizards and slain."
• "The rupturing of British rule over India in the rebellion of 1857 permitted a great witch-hunt, with lethal effects, to occur among the tribes of northern India."
• "Rank-and-file Communists everywhere are led away on a senseless witch-hunt after 'Trotskyists'."