McCarthyism

noun

Mc·​Car·​thy·​ism mə-ˈkär-thē-ˌi-zəm 

 also  -ˈkär-tē-

: a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges

broadly : defamation of character or reputation through such tactics

McCarthyist

mə-ˈkär-thē-ist 

 also  -ˈkär-tē-

adjective

McCarthyite

mə-ˈkär-thē-ˌīt 

 also  -ˈkär-tē-

noun or adjective

Examples of McCarthyism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film, co-written by Clooney and Heslov and directed by Clooney, depicted CBS journalist Murrow’s fight against senator Joseph McCarthy during the height of McCarthyism. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2025

After all, the same constitutional order that undergirds America’s contemporary liberal democracy permitted nearly a century of authoritarianism in the Jim Crow South, the mass internment of Japanese Americans, and McCarthyism. —Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025

After the war the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s made being a card-carrying communist a problem socially if not legally. —Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Feb. 2025

Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the U.S. government persecuted people of being communists. —Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Joseph R. McCarthy

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above