Hun
Americannoun
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a member of a nomadic and warlike Asian people who devastated or controlled large parts of eastern and central Europe and who exercised their greatest power under Attila in the 5th century a.d.
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(often lowercase) a barbarous, destructive person; vandal.
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Older Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a German, especially a German soldier in World War I or II.
noun
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a member of any of several Asiatic nomadic peoples speaking Mongoloid or Turkic languages who dominated much of Asia and E Europe from before 300 bc , invading the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries a.d
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informal (esp in World War I) a derogatory name for a German
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informal a vandal
Sensitive Note
The disparaging and offensive use of this term likens the Germans to the barbarous and warlike Huns of the 4th and 5th centuries. The source of the comparison was a speech by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900, encouraging German soldiers bound for China to act toward the Chinese just like “the Huns a thousand years ago.”
Usage
What else does hun mean? Hun can be a term of endearment, a phonetic spelling from a shortening of honey. It's also used as a derogatory slang term for women involved in multi-level marketing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Hun
before 900; 1895–1900 Hun for def. 3; singular of Huns, Old English Hūnas; cognate with Old Norse Hūnar; akin to Late Latin Hunnī
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hun Sen posted on Facebook that Sokha had been "pardoned", alongside a photo of the royal decree signed by him.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Kem Sokha, who was convicted of trying to topple the former long-ruling leader's government and sentenced to 27 years, "is pardoned", Hun Sen posted on social media alongside a royal decree signed by him.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
However, Hun Sen still wields immense power in Cambodia and is acting head of state while King Norodom Sihamoni receives medical treatment abroad.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Rickover likened himself to Attila the Hun and had young officers conduct job interviews on chairs with specially shortened front legs, banishing them to a closet if they disappointed him.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Liszt spearheaded a shift from orchestral to illustrative music, using this 1850 painting of Attila the Hun in battle as the basis for his symphonic poem Hunnenschlacht.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
