juggernaut — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.

   Examples

   […] poor Johnny Tetterby staggering under his Moloch of an infant, the Juggernaut that crushes all his enjoyments.

   More examples (4)

   Anon Mr. Hoopdriver found himself riding out of the darkness of non-existence, pedalling Ezekiel's Wheels across the Weald of Surrey, jolting over the hills and smashing villages in his course, while the other man in brown cursed and swore at him and shouted to stop his career. There was the Putney heath-keeper, too, and the man in drab raging at him. He felt an awful fool, a- -what was it?--a juggins, ah!--a Juggernaut.

   McCarthy will point to their bad luck but the statistics now show that Wolves have lost four league matches and have claimed one point from a possible 15 - so it may prove to be another difficult season for the Midlands side. In contrast, the Newcastle juggernaut rolls on.

   The fact that the juggernaut of Indian English rolls inexorably on, largely unconcerned by the academic arguments taking place about it, is in itself an indicator of an endonormative force in the variety, and this can be traced historically.

   It’s always fun when something massive comes along and sweeps the board, giving everything else a thoroughly good kicking – think Titanic, The Silence of the Lambs, or Lord of the Rings. There’s a sort of deranged, gluttonous feeling, a perverse glee in seeing so many dreams trampled on by a massive cultural juggernaut.

2. A large, cumbersome truck or lorry, especially an articulated lorry.

   Usage

   • Ireland
   • UK usage
   • Derogatory
   • sometimes

   Examples

   Silently and gracefully I free-wheeled across the path of three juggernauts, [...] glided across the hard shoulder and came to rest halfway up a grass bank.

   More examples (1)

   I know I swing me Volvo all around you market square. I know you think that lorry drivers, we just don't care. But the streets are so narrow, built so many years ago. They were built for horses' carts, not juggernauts you know.

3. An institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.

Noun

1. a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way

   Synonyms

   steamroller

   Broader terms

   powerforce