jingo
Americannoun
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a person who professes their patriotism loudly and excessively, favoring vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy; bellicose chauvinist.
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English History. a Conservative supporter of British Prime Minister Disraeli's policy in Turkey during the period 1877–78.
adjective
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of jingoes.
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characterized by jingoism.
idioms
noun
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a loud and bellicose patriot; chauvinist
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jingoism
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an exclamation of surprise
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jingo
First recorded in 1660–70; originally conjurer's call hey jingo! “appear! come forth!” (opposed to hey presto! hasten away!), taken into general use in the phrase by Jingo, euphemism for by God; chauvinistic sense from by Jingo in political song supporting use of British forces against Russia in 1878
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Despite winning the Nobel prize, Kipling's reputation has suffered over his association with British imperialism – he was described as a "jingo imperialist" by George Orwell, who also called him "the prophet of British Imperialism".
From The Guardian • Feb. 25, 2013
Photograph: EO Hoppe/Getty Images For George Orwell, Rudyard Kipling was "a jingo imperialist … morally insensitive and aesthetically disgusting".
From The Guardian • Jun. 21, 2012
Your twitter name, @edballsmp, might be factually accurate but, by jingo, it's dull.
From The Guardian • Apr. 3, 2011
The two bankers he persuaded to the rescue of his debt-ridden, jingo client were, ironically, Russian-born Boston Banker Serge Semenenko and an Italian immigrant's son, San Francisco's A. P. Giannini.
From Time Magazine Archive
Donovan was back with the suits, “They’ve gone jingo on us, Greg. That’s a military march.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
