Hornets' Nest (Noun)
Meaning 1
A highly contentious or hazardous situation; "talk of invading Iraq stirred up a political hornets' nest".
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The politician's comments on immigration stirred up a hornets' nest of controversy and debate.
- The company's decision to downsize sparked a hornets' nest of protests and lawsuits from laid-off employees.
- The proposal to build a new highway through the nature reserve stirred up a hornets' nest of opposition from environmental groups.
- The celebrity's tweet about social justice issues stirred up a hornets' nest of criticism and backlash on social media.
- The government's plan to raise taxes created a hornets' nest of opposition from business leaders and taxpayers.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Habitation for wasps or hornets.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made).
Examples
- The campers unknowingly stumbled upon a hornets' nest hidden in the hollow tree trunk, and were quickly surrounded by a swarm of angry wasps.
- The old wooden picnic table had become a hornets' nest, its intricate carvings providing the perfect shelter for the wasps' papery combs.
- As the gardener pruned the overgrown bushes, she disturbed a hornets' nest that had been quietly thriving there all summer.
- The family's backyard had become a hornets' nest of activity, with wasps and hornets flitting about the eaves of the house and the nearby flowers.
- The nest was an impressive hornets' nest, its teardrop shape gleaming with a sickly yellow sheen as the wasps zipped in and out of its entrance.