run high

1. Be intense, as in Feelings are running high on the issue of raising taxes. This expression, first recorded in 1711, transfers the strong currents or tides that make for high waves to human concerns.

Example Sentences

Malema was convicted of hate speech less than two months ago and often lashes out at the white minority in a country where, 31 years after apartheid ended, racial tensions still run high.

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Emotions, especially anxiety, can run high among teachers and students.

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Emotions run high because Sadr is so revered by his followers - both for his political reputation, having advocated on behalf of his native Lebanon's then-marginalised Shia Muslims, and as a wider religious leader.

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Adults in the wedding party can be just as unpredictable too, especially on a day where emotions can run high.

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Emotions certainly did run high when they came together for the show, and many of the women admit to having regrets about saying certain things, or feel embarrassed about how they acted when the cameras were rolling.

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