Hunnish

American  

[huhn-ish] / ˈhʌn ɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Huns.

2. (sometimes lowercase) barbarous; destructive.

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hunnish British  

/ ˈhʌnɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Huns

2. barbarously destructive; vandalistic

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Other Word Forms

• Hunnishly adverb
• Hunnishness noun

Etymology

Origin of Hunnish

First recorded in 1810–20; Hun + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Not a man in the host will adventure— Though I offer a rich reward— To take his shield, And ride to the field, To seek out the Hunnish horde.

From Stories and Ballads of the Far Past Translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese) with Introductions and Notes by Kershaw, Nora

We will call on the Hunnish people To arm them with spear and with shield.—

From Stories and Ballads of the Far Past Translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese) with Introductions and Notes by Kershaw, Nora

Accompanied by her father and her betrothed, Ildico appears, by order of Attila, at the Hunnish court in Pannonia, where she is received with barbarous splendor and conducted into the reception hall.

From Women of the Teutonic Nations Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 8 (of 10) by Schoenfeld, Hermann

Although a pagan, the conception left to us of the wife of the dread Hunnish king is of a woman who has become almost entirely Germanized.

From Women of the Teutonic Nations Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 8 (of 10) by Schoenfeld, Hermann

It was not alone the Goths who were swept before Attila and his Hunnish hosts.

From A Short History of Germany by Parmele, Mary Platt