hot-button

American  

[hot-buht-n] / ˈhɒtˈbʌt n /

adjective

1. exciting strong feelings; highly charged; emotional.

   hot-button issues.

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hot button British  

noun

1. informal

   1. a controversial subject or issue that is likely to arouse strong emotions

   2. ( as modifier )

      the hot-button issue of abortion

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Etymology

Origin of hot-button

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

That middle-of-the-road phrasing is a result of the rising perils of wading into hot-button issues in recent years.

From Barron's

A chatbot collected opinions on hot-button political topics from people in the U.K. and aggregated users’ responses into a group statement that emphasized common ground.

From The Wall Street Journal

He said yes to Meathead, assuming that the sitcom’s hot-button bigotry would be so incendiary that it couldn’t possibly last longer than 13 episodes.

From Los Angeles Times

Artificial-intelligence spending remains a hot-button issue on Wall Street.

From Barron's

Naturally, the couple segues into another disagreement, arguing about where to spend their upcoming vacation — a hot-button issue, since Joan’s cancer treatments are no longer working and time is suddenly precious.

From Salon