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hot-button

American  
[hot-buht-n] / ˈhɒtˈbʌt n /

adjective

  1. exciting strong feelings; highly charged; emotional.

    hot-button issues.
hot button British  

noun

  1. informal

    1. a controversial subject or issue that is likely to arouse strong emotions

    2. ( as modifier )

      the hot-button issue of abortion
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hot-button

First recorded in 1985–90

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.