juggernaut

noun

jug·ger·naut ˈjə-gər-ˌnȯt

-ˌnät

Synonyms of juggernaut next

: a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path

an advertising juggernaut

a political juggernaut

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Zoom in: In the late 1970s, Marcus and Arthur Blank dreamed up and built a juggernaut in the home improvement retail world. —

Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024 Its time as an economic juggernaut is still nascent, however, with Novo’s valuation increasing by more than 400% in the last six years. —

Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 4 Nov. 2024 Still, the religious underpinnings that would make Heritage into a juggernaut of homophobia were present from the start. —

Samantha Riedel, Them, 1 Nov. 2024 Harris hopes organizing juggernaut can overcome Trump’s narrow lead The Harris campaign has flooded Arizona with staffers and volunteers who knock on hundreds of thousands of doors and send millions of text messages, according to one of the leaders of the effort. —

Stephanie Murray, The Arizona Republic, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for juggernaut