touch/strike/hit a raw nerve
idiom
: to hurt or upset a person or people
The article touched/struck/hit a raw nerve.
Examples of touch/strike/hit a raw nerve in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Such comments strike a raw nerve in Israel, a country established as a haven for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust.
—
NBC News, 19 Feb. 2024
The horrifying video of George Floyd being slowly strangled to death hit a raw nerve in the black community, which has endured decades of these kinds of atrocities, as well as an exponentially greater amount of less-lethal abuses.
—Ryan Cooper, TheWeek, 9 June 2020
But comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have hit a raw nerve.
—Hadas Gold, CNN, 4 May 2022
And given that my mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor, that potential truth, whether conclusive or not, hit a raw nerve.
—Chioma Nnadi, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2021
NBC News, 19 Feb. 2024
The horrifying video of George Floyd being slowly strangled to death hit a raw nerve in the black community, which has endured decades of these kinds of atrocities, as well as an exponentially greater amount of less-lethal abuses.
—Ryan Cooper, TheWeek, 9 June 2020
But comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have hit a raw nerve.
—Hadas Gold, CNN, 4 May 2022
And given that my mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor, that potential truth, whether conclusive or not, hit a raw nerve.
—Chioma Nnadi, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'touch/strike/hit a raw nerve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Touch/strike/hit a raw nerve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch%2Fstrike%2Fhit%20a%20raw%20nerve. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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