firestorm
/fˈaɪɹstˌɔɹm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.92 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An intense or violent altercation; an intense or violent response; an outburst (as of controversy)
Example Sentences
- "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: […]"
- "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."
- "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."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Germanic *fōr Proto-West Germanic *fuir Old English fȳr Middle English fyr English fire English storm English firestorm From fire + storm.