a hot-button issue
Meaning(s)
1. a current, often controversial subject that people have strong opinions about
Popularity
Medium
Professional
Medium
Social
How to Memorize
immigration has become a hot-button issue
Analysis
If a button was really hot, you wouldn't want to touch it! In this figurative expression, a 'hot-button issue' is a subject or topic that a lot of people might avoid because it evokes anger or argument. Nowadays, issues like Climate Change, Transgender Rights, and Systemic Racism are 'hot-button issues' because people have very strong opinions about how to address them; and they regularly lead to heated arguments.
Social Examples (Advance)
- In the past few years, immigration has become a hot-button issue in Western society.
- Police brutality and racism is a hot button issue many newspapers are afraid to address.
Professional Examples (Advance)
- Companies are increasingly linking their advertising to hot-button issues, knowing that controversy often leads to widespread coverage.
- At the conference experts in their fields will discuss the hot button issues facing global organisations today.