hornet's nest

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- /ˈhɔːr.nəts ˈnest/
- /ˈhɔː.nəts nest/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- /ˈhɔːr.nəts ˈnest/

Definitions of hornet's nest words

noun hornet's nest a large amount of activity, trouble, hostility, or animosity: His investigation stirred up a hornet's nest, resulting in major shifts in personnel. 1
noun hornet's nest a strongly unfavourable reaction (often in the phrase stir up a hornet's nest) 0
noun hornet's nest a situation fraught with trouble, hostility, risk, etc. 0

See all 3 definitions of hornet's nest

Information block about the term

Origin of hornet's nest

First appearance:

before 1730

One of the 48% newest English words

First recorded in 1730-40

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Hornet's nest

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Hornet's nest

hornet's nest popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 74% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

Synonyms for hornet's nest

noun hornet's nest

trouble — to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.

Just one Synonym for hornet's nest