Word.ws English Dictionary

Attila the Hun

Attila the Hun proper noun: attila, kingly ruler of the tribe of the Huns and vast Eurasian Hunnic Empire and feared enemy of the Roman Empire, from 434 until his death in 453.

Proper noun

Attila the Hun

  1. (historical) Attila, kingly ruler of the tribe of the Huns and vast Eurasian Hunnic Empire and feared enemy of the Roman Empire, from 434 until his death in 453.

Noun

Attila the Hun

  1. Generally, a tyrant, or otherwise, a person characterized by ruthless aggressiveness.
    • He also told me that while Rehr, in person, could be “a gracious and friendly guy,” he was clearly “the Attila the Hun of the alcoholic beverage industry.2004, Ken Wells, Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America, page 172
    • He didn't know then that he had hired the Attila the Hun of ambitious young lawyers.2003, Gina F. Wilkins, The Family Plan, page 9

Examples of Attila the Hun in a sentence

  • They don't have a Jim Baker, they don't have a warrior, an Attila the Hun.2001, Jake Tapper, Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency, page 315:
  • The organizations don't tolerate an Attila the Hun in one office and a Mother Teresa next door.1998, Ole Ingstrup, Paul Stanley Crookall, The Three Pillars of Public Management: Secrets of Sustained Success, page 9:
  • Cohn, the Attila the Hun of divorce attorneys.1998, Edward Klein, Just Jackie: Her Private Years, page 270:
  • The workers were being supervised by an Attila the Hun.1982, Paul L. Brown, Managing Behavior on the Job, page 84:

Words formed from Attila the Hun

Questions about Attila the Hun

What does Attila the Hun mean?
Attila the Hun means attila, kingly ruler of the tribe of the Huns and vast Eurasian Hunnic Empire and feared enemy of the Roman Empire, from 434 until his death in 453.
How do you use Attila the Hun in a sentence?
They don't have a Jim Baker, they don't have a warrior, an Attila the Hun.
What part of speech is Attila the Hun?
Attila the Hun can be a proper noun or a noun.

Words near Attila the Hun in the dictionary

  1. attiguous
  2. attiguousness
  3. Attika
  4. Attikesse
  5. attila
  6. Attila the Hun
  7. Attilanic
  8. attilas
  9. attine
  10. attines
  11. atting

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Attila the Hun (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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