mccarthyism
/məˈkɑɹ.θi.ɪzəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.48 in modern English
25
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The mass pressure, harassment, and/or blacklisting used to pressure people to follow popular political beliefs, especially as opposed to communism.
Derogatory; Uncountable
name
The intense opposition to, and fear and suspicion of, Communism, particularly in the United States during the 1950s.
Example Sentences
- "This is McMuskism: it’s McCarthyism on steroids, political persecution + Trump + Musk + Silicon Valley surveillance tools. It’s the dawn of a new age of political witch-hunts, where burning at the stake meets data harvesting and online mobs."
- "An important symptom of the difference between McCarthyism and Birchism is the shift in the geographical center of gravity."
Etymology
Etymology tree Irish Mac Carthaighbor. English McCarthy Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English McCarthyism From McCarthy + -ism, named after United States Senator Joseph McCarthy. Originates from a 1950 Washington Post political cartoon by Herbert Block.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /məˈkɑɹ.θi.ɪzəm/
- British English: /məˈkɑː.θi.ɪzəm/