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Glite Dictionary
🟥 Accusing of communism 🟥 Accusation of communism 🟥 To accuse of communism
to red-baiting

to red-baiting

9.7
To attack someone by saying they are a communist to make them look bad
  • verb
  • /ˈrɛdˌbeɪtɪŋ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : acusar de comunista
  • Many political activists fear red-baiting tactics that could undermine their efforts to speak out against injustice.

Examples

  • For example, after Reagan famously called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" in 1983, Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill derisively accused Reagan of "red-baiting."

    Blog text (22)

  • The senator was criticized for red-baiting her opponents during the election campaign, accusing them of communist ties without evidence.

  • In his speech, he claimed that the media was red-baiting individuals who simply advocated for social reform.

Synonyms

to smear
vsto red-baiting
55 6.1

To make false or unfair statements to hurt someone's reputation

targets a person by accusing them of communist sympathy specifically

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

to defend
691 2.8

To speak up to support a person or idea when others criticize it

How Damaging

to vilify
43 7.9
to red-baiting
  • Offensive
9.7
to smear
55 6.1
to accuse
∞ 2.7
to allege
  • Literature
497 5.3
to insinuate
42 7.8

Surface Forms

red-bait infinitive
red-baited past
red-baited past participle
red-baiting present participle
red-baits third person singular

Morphology

red-baiting = red-bait (semi-transparent) = red + bait + ing

The verbal sense is directly from the verb 'red-bait' with '-ing' as a participle/gerund; comprehension depends on knowing the political sense of 'red' and 'bait' as 'attack'.

Etymology

Red-baiting comes from red, the colour of the communist flag, and bait, which means 'to lure' or 'to attack'. So, to red-bait someone (the verb) is to accuse them of being a communist in order to hurt their reputation.