Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
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.

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

They were trying to locate and destroy a hornet's nest after a positive identification nearby.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2023

The trooper said he “didn’t really see a need to stir up the hornet’s nest for such a minor violation.”

From Seattle Times • May 5, 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

Howard Fuller’s use of the phrase Black Power—against this backdrop of contention and violence—stirred a hornet’s nest in both the white and black communities.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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.