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witch hunt
Sign in to saveAlso known as witch-hunt, witch purge, hunt of the witches
search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, or mass hysteria
A witch hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, typically driven by widespread fear and panic rather than solid evidence. It matters because throughout history, witch hunts have led to the persecution and harm of innocent people, and the term is now used to describe any unfair accusation or investigation based on hysteria rather than facts.
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Burning witches, with others held in stocks, 14th century A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. An intensive period of witch-hunts occurring in Early Modern Europe and to a smaller extent Colonial America, took place from about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, Counter Reformation, and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia, Cameroon and South Africa today.
In contemporary English, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, and so on, but with the real purpose of harming opponents. It can also involve elements of moral panic, as well as mass hysteria.