Salem witch trials

Cultural

Trials held in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 that led to the execution of twenty people for allegedly practicing witchcraft. The trials are noted for the hysterical atmosphere in which they were conducted; many townspeople were widely suspected of witchcraft on flimsy evidence.

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When people are quick to accuse one another of serious misdeeds on inadequate evidence, the situation is often compared to the Salem witch trials.

A “witch hunt” is a political campaign launched under the pretext of investigating activities considered subversive by the state.

Example Sentences

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Though the Salem witch trials were 150 years past, in remote areas like Hydesville, belief in sorcery and evil held fast.

From Literature

My friend made a Build-A-Bear that would, like Giles Corey, the farmer pressed to death by stones in the Salem witch trials, say “more weight” when squeezed.

From The Wall Street Journal

The trial of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender, from Lowestoft, held in Bury St Edmunds in 1662 set a precedent that was believed to have influenced the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts at the end of that century.

From BBC

In I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem, Condé told the story of a slave who was one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft during the 1692 Salem witch trials.

From BBC

The witch trials that are perhaps best known are the infamous Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts, USA, between February 1692 and May 1693.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023