hornet's nest

noun

1

: a troublesome or hazardous situation

2

: an angry reaction

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of hornet's nest in a Sentence

The principal entered the hornet's nest of angry parents.

His comments stirred up a hornet's nest of angry opposition and criticism.

Recent Examples on the Web

An order by Trump to revisit how the land is used has been like poking a hornet's nest with a stick. — latimes.com, 16 Mar. 2018

But the attempt to kick out KairosPDX charter school was a political hornet's nest. — Bethany Barnes, OregonLive.com, 26 Apr. 2018

With its lease on life extended another year, the modernizing committee is looking into issues that could rile up the hornet's nest. — Author: Paul Kane, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Dec. 2019

And the exact nature of the concrete and metal protecting the Iranian nuclear site known as Fordo isn’t known, introducing the chance that a US strike would poke a hornet's nest without destroying it. — Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 21 June 2025

On Saturday morning, Dianna Russini of The Athletic stirred up a hornet's nest before Texas was set to play Mississippi State in Week 9. — Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1740, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hornet's nest

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed