Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

somalia syndrome

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English

Syllables: so-ma-li-a syn-drome
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A feeling of reluctance among Western nations (particularly the United States) to intervene militarily in African conflicts and humanitarian crises following the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, which was regarded in the US as a disaster.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"How much longer can this perverse, unspoken U.N. assignment last? Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the U.N. Secretary-General, has taken to warning against what he calls the Somalia syndrome, by which he means discouragement among the governments contributing to the mission and a consequent humiliating U.N. departure."

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

the Somalia syndrome (canonical)

Phrases

Vietnam syndrome

Frequently Paired Words

Vietnam syndrome

Questions

What does somalia syndrome mean?: A feeling of reluctance among Western nations (particularly the United States) to intervene militarily in African conflicts and humanitarian crises following the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, which was regarded in the US as a disaster.

How to pronounce somalia syndrome

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “somalia syndrome”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “somalia syndrome”.
Repeat and practice — Say “somalia syndrome” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.