Dictionary

McCarthyism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /məˈkɑɹ.θi.ɪzəm/ (General-American)
• /məˈkɑː.θi.ɪzəm/ (Received-Pronunciation)

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.

Meanings

1. (derogatory, uncountable, usually) The mass pressure, harassment, and/or blacklisting used to pressure people to follow popular political beliefs, especially as opposed to communism.
   • 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. 2024 November 17, Carole Cadwalladr, “How to survive the broligarchy: 20 lessons for the post-truth world”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2024:

Forms

Translations (6)

cmn 麥卡錫主義 /麦卡锡主义 (mass pressure) · pl maccartyzm (mass pressure) · de Blockwartmentalität (mass pressure) · ca cacera de bruixes (mass pressure) · nl mccarthyisme (mass pressure) · el μακαρθισμός (mass pressure)

McCarthyism en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /məˈkɑɹ.θi.ɪzəm/ (General-American)
• /məˈkɑː.θi.ɪzəm/ (Received-Pronunciation)

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.

Meanings

1. The intense opposition to, and fear and suspicion of, Communism, particularly in the United States during the 1950s.
   • An important symptom of the difference between McCarthyism and Birchism is the shift in the geographical center of gravity. 1964, Daniel Bell, The Radical Right, page 234:

Deriveds

McMuskism

Hypernyms

anticommunism

Relateds

McCarthyist · McCarthyesque · witch-hunt · McCarthyite · McCarthyistic

Translations (20)

nl mccarthyisme (intense opposition to Communism) · fr maccarthysme (intense opposition to Communism) · es macarthismo (intense opposition to Communism) · pt macartismo (intense opposition to Communism) · pl maccartyzm (intense opposition to Communism) · it maccartismo (intense opposition to Communism) · be макарці́зм (intense opposition to Communism) · ja マッカーシズム (intense opposition to Communism) · el μακαρθισμός (intense opposition to Communism) · de McCarthyismus (intense opposition to Communism) · ka მაკარტიზმი (intense opposition to Communism) · pt macarthismo (intense opposition to Communism) · es mccarthismo (intense opposition to Communism) · es macartismo (intense opposition to Communism) · vi chủ nghĩa McCarthy (intense opposition to Communism) · fi mccarthyismi (intense opposition to Communism) · es maccarthismo (intense opposition to Communism) · ru маккарти́зм (intense opposition to Communism) · cmn 麥卡錫主義 /麦卡锡主义 (intense opposition to Communism) · ca maccarthisme (intense opposition to Communism)