meltdown

Severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and potentially in radiation escaping.

Four years have passed since the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, but the grim legacy of the Soviet catastrophe is still unfolding.

A situation being likened to a nuclear meltdown; a crisis.

Channel 4 switchboards went into meltdown this week when viewers called to complain about a Brass Eye programme on child sex.

Computer engineers were at a loss last night to explain why the Government had been hit by arguably the worst electronic meltdown in the history of Whitehall.

A tantrum or emotional outburst.

I had a major meltdown at work today. After being instructed one more time about additional work that I was to delegate to my direct reports, I snapped, but in a very polite manner.

After the huntsman raced across my windscreen, I had an arachnophobic meltdown on the side of the road.

An autistic response to stress or sensory overload, in which the person is overwhelmed by intense, seemingly disproportionate emotions, behaving erratically and becoming unable to mask.

Now if I am really anxious, I can take a moment to think about what is making me anxious and what to do about it; before I would just spiral into a meltdown really quickly, with no understanding of why.

However, if the accumulation of stress chemicals, stimulation and/or demands are occurring too fast or are too intense to block out, then a meltdown is probable.