juggernaut

noun

jug·​ger·​naut ˈjə-gər-ˌnȯt How to pronounce juggernaut (audio)
-ˌnät
1
: a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path
an advertising juggernaut
a political juggernaut
2
chiefly British : a large heavy truck

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The History of Juggernaut

In the early 14th century, Franciscan missionary Friar Odoric brought to Europe the story of an enormous carriage that carried an image of the Hindu god Vishnu (whose title was Jagannath, literally, "lord of the world") through the streets of India in religious processions. Odoric reported that some worshippers deliberately allowed themselves to be crushed beneath the vehicle's wheels as a sacrifice to Vishnu. That story was likely an exaggeration or misinterpretation of actual events, but it spread throughout Europe. The tale caught the imagination of English listeners, and they began using juggernaut to refer to any massive vehicle (such as a steam locomotive) and to any other enormous entity with powerful crushing capabilities.

Examples of juggernaut in a Sentence

there was no escaping the juggernaut of hype for the studio's biggest summer blockbuster
Recent Examples on the Web The Sun Devils have been an offensive juggernaut during the tournament, averaging an impressive 89.3 points per game. Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Catherine Hardwicke’s take on Stephanie Meyer’s Y.A. juggernaut remains a stylish, swooning exercise in modern-day myth. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 The news of the duo's months-long affair not only rocked Bravo fans but also became a pop cultural juggernaut of epic proportions. Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024 With $239 billion in market capitalization and rights to the wildly popular Indian Premier League cricket matches, Reliance is a juggernaut in the media landscape in India. Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 The juggernaut of history writes the A plot, the human the B plot. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024 Will Iowa run into the juggernaut built by Dawn Staley in South Carolina? Susan M. Shaw, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Ironically, the peer-to-peer sharing of cassette tapes would play a significant role in the documentation and spread of the next big juggernaut in commercial music; hip-hop. John Morrison, SPIN, 13 Feb. 2024 Anything but Love, never a ratings juggernaut, made it through four seasons before it was yanked in 1992. Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'juggernaut.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Hindi Jagannāth, literally, lord of the world, title of Vishnu

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of juggernaut was in 1841

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Cite this Entry

“Juggernaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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