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Synonyms

hornet's nest

American  

noun

  1. a large amount of activity, trouble, hostility, or animosity.

    His investigation stirred up a hornet's nest, resulting in major shifts in personnel.

Etymology

Origin of hornet's nest

First recorded in 1730–40

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.

Shadi lives in Melbourne, in Australia, but her parents' home is in a neighbourhood of Tehran known as "the hornet's nest".

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Curiously, I never really got angry at the North Koreans, on the assumption that if you kick the hornet’s nest and get stung, you can’t really blame the hornets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

The Seahawks are heading into a hornet’s nest Sunday in Detroit.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2023

Scott Adams sat for his regular YouTube show last month with a plan to stir a hornet’s nest.

From Washington Post • Mar. 6, 2023

He had already cleaned out a hornet’s nest in the blockhouse and swept off the launchpad.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.