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Synonyms

burning question

Idioms  
  1. An urgent or crucial issue under heated discussion. For example, Real estate taxes are always a burning question for the town leaders. This term has exact equivalents in French (question brûlante) and German (brennende Frage). [Mid-1800s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Travelers hunt for regional souvenirs, soothe their homesickness and investigate a burning question: Is the hot dog different?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

A burning question now is, when will the court rule?

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025

The burning question in the men's singles is an obvious one - who can stop Sinner and Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz carving up another Grand Slam title between them?

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

I think that leaves us with the burning question you and I are now asking every week: Are the justices really that naive and credulous?

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2025

The only actual poll I ever took myself was informal and designed to answer the burning question: What percentage of college women enjoy watching the Three Stooges?

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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