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Glite Dictionary
Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

4 7.5
British prime minister from 1937 to 1940 who tried to avoid war with Germany
  • proper noun
: Neville Chamberlain
  • Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister.

Examples

  • In 1938, Neville Chamberlain declared 'peace for our time'!

  • As Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain tried to maintain peace in Europe through diplomatic negotiations.

  • Neville Chamberlain is often remembered for his "peace for our time" speech after the Munich Agreement.

  • Many historians debate whether Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy delayed or hastened the outbreak of World War II.

  • "The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is often remembered for his policy of appeasement during the 1930s."

  • "In his speeches, Neville Chamberlain emphasized the importance of diplomacy to avoid war with Germany."

  • "History textbooks frequently discuss Neville Chamberlain and the significant impact of his decisions before World War II."

Synonyms

Chamberlain
vsNeville Chamberlain
11 7.5

British Prime Minister before World War II who is known for trying to avoid war with Nazi Germany

uses the fuller personal name rather than the brief surname reference
Arthur Neville Chamberlain
vsNeville Chamberlain
1 8.3

A British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940 who tried to avoid war with Germany before World War II

uses a shorter common name rather than the full formal name

Surface Forms

Neville Chamberlain main

Morphology

Neville + Chamberlain

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical individual; personal names are arbitrary labels whose referent (a British prime minister known for appeasement before WWII) cannot be derived from the constituent words. Even if a learner knows the common-noun sense of 'chamberlain' (a court official) or the surname form, that knowledge does not allow them to infer the identity, dates, or political significance of Neville Chamberlain, so the expression is idiomatically referential and not compositional.

Etymology

Neville Chamberlain is the name of the British leader who, in 1938, agreed to give up part of Czechoslovakia to Germany and came home saying 'peace for our time'. Because he tried to avoid war by giving in to strong demands, his name today often stands for leaders who make big concessions to keep the peace.