firestorm
nounEtymology From fire + storm.
1
A fire whose intensity is greatly increased by inrushing winds.
2
Figuratively An intense or violent altercation; an intense or violent response; an outburst (as of controversy)
- In the print firestorm that followed the publication of the royal couple's letters, the generalissima was one polemical touchstone. The Annotations to The Kings Cabinet Opened itself depicted the queen as an enemy to king and country: […]2012, Ann Baynes Coiro, Thomas Fulton, Rethinking Historicism from Shakespeare to Milton, page 243:
- This past weekend, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach set off a firestorm with his full-page ad in the New York Times accusing National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice of turning a blind eye to the Rwandan genocide when she was on President Bill Clinton’s national security team in the 1990s.2015 March 4, Jill Jacobs, “Shmuley Boteach isn’t ‘America’s rabbi’”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2023:
1 more example
- An American tourist who was reportedly filmed picking up and running off with a wild baby wombat fled Australia after officials threatened to cancel her visa in a firestorm of criticism over the incident.2025 March 13, Hilary Whiteman, “US tourist filmed running off with baby wombat flees Australia after visa threat”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2025:
- Synonyms
- conflagration