as in controversy
variance of opinion on a matter
a seemingly endless firestorm was ignited by that U.S. Supreme Court decision
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Recent Examples of firestorm
The campaign sparked a social media firestorm, in which critics said American Eagle was glorifying the actor’s white heritage.
—
Jack Dunn, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
The judging controversy, however, incited a firestorm that was just getting started.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Both cases were fodder for a media firestorm, begetting nightly news specials and full-length documentaries.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 22 Jan. 2026
My doctor failed to warn me how this simple test placed me at ground zero of a medical firestorm.
—Howard Wolinsky, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for firestorm
Jack Dunn, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
The judging controversy, however, incited a firestorm that was just getting started.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Both cases were fodder for a media firestorm, begetting nightly news specials and full-length documentaries.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 22 Jan. 2026
My doctor failed to warn me how this simple test placed me at ground zero of a medical firestorm.
—Howard Wolinsky, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for firestorm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firestorm
Noun
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The Independent reported that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is also facing Epstein connected controversy over the appointment and subsequent firing of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, attended the reception.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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But the controversy surrounding the event with halftime performer Bad Bunny likely stoked additional interest.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But whether our collective desire has been sated is up for (a lot of) debate.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Berlinale has long been considered a forum for political expression and a crucible for debate about important world affairs, but avoiding political comment has seemingly been a trend at this year’s event, whether by chance, design or out of fear.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But before the action alights in the location of the latest dispute between adjacent property owners to catch the eye of directors Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford (yes, grandson of Robert), the shot fills with the telltale red, white and blue of the American flag.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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While Japan has seized fishing vessels from South Korea and Taiwan in recent years, the incident is the first involving a vessel from China since 2022 and comes against the backdrop of a major diplomatic dispute between the countries.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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According to him, advances in machine learning have yanked questions once trapped inside theological/philosophical disputations into corporate board packs.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
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Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2023
Noun
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For teens especially, emotional growth depends on navigating real relationships, including discomfort and disagreement.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
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Anthropic’s founders are former OpenAI employees who left over disagreements about the ChatGPT maker’s direction, approach to safety and pace of AI development.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firestorm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firestorm. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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