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Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

140 6.0
An Iraqi political leader, President from 1979 to 2003, who ruled strictly and led wars with Iran and Kuwait
  • proper noun
translation icon : Saddam Hussein
  • Iran's Khomeini exhorted Shiites in Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.
  • regime of Saddam Hussein
  • President Saddam Hussein
  • Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein

Examples

  • Around the same time, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops arrived in Saudi Arabia.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with an iron fist during his presidency from 1979 to 2003.

  • Instead, they saw Saddam Hussein still in power and felt intense frustration.

    Academic text (1994)
  • But today, as Saddam Hussein has demonstrated, the region's main threat comes from within the region itself.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The war to remove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003 furthered this process.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Iraq's President, Saddam Hussein, tried to communicate such a position to world public opinion in several ways.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In 1990, Saddam Hussein and his military leaders engaged in a war of aggression against Kuwait.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Representative causes cited by students included, "Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and took it over by force."

    Academic text (1994)
  • The Ba'ath Party remained in power until 2003, becoming heavily militarized after Saddam Hussein assumed control in 1979.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Shortly thereafter, however, the world was caught by surprise when Saddam Hussein announced the annexation of Kuwait as Iraq's 19th province.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

Saddam
vsSaddam Hussein
6.1

An Iraqi leader who was president from 1979 to 2003

is identical in meaning but uses the formal full name
Hussein
vsSaddam Hussein
5.6

An Iraqi leader who was president from 1979 to 2003 and led wars against Iran and Kuwait

is identical in meaning but appears as the given name or shorter form

Surface Forms

Morphology

Saddam + Hussein

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical individual; its referential meaning (Iraqi president, wartime leader, authoritarian ruler) is not compositionally derived from the two name elements. Knowing the constituent names does not allow a B1 learner to infer the biographical or political information, so the expression is not transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Saddam Hussein was the Iraqi president from 1979 to 2003 who led wars and ruled by force. Because of this, his name is often used to mean a harsh, powerful leader or 'dictator'.