mccarthyist means of or pertaining to McCarthyism. It carries an Arena rating of 1087, earned across 251 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mccarthyist ranks #1,162 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,799 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #3,932 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #9,196 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
Why “mccarthyist” is a great word
MCCARTHYIST — [Adjective] Characteristic of the practice of making accusations of disloyalty or subversion without proper regard for evidence, as associated with U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. From the proper name McCarthy (referring to U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy) + the suffix -ist (denoting an adherent of a practice or system). First attested in 1950. Unlike "McCarthyite" (which often denotes a zealous partisan) or "anti-communist" (which denotes an ideological position), "McCarthyist" describes the specific, corrosive methodology itself. It is the insinuating whisper in a committee hearing, the blacklist compiled from rumor, and the career shattered on a whisper alone—the institutionalization of fear as a political tool, turning civic debate into a whispered inquisition.
Etymology
From McCarthy + -ist.
adj
- Of or pertaining to McCarthyism
noun
- A follower of McCarthyism
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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