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definitions

juggle

[juhg-uh l]
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verb (used with object), jug·gled, jug·gling.

verb (used without object), jug·gled, jug·gling.

to perform feats of manual or bodily dexterity, as tossing up and keeping in continuous motion a number of balls, plates, knives, etc.
to use artifice or trickery.

noun

the act or fact of juggling.

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RELATED WORDS

shuffle, alter, trim, maneuver, humbug, doctor, conjure, fix, modify, change, disguise, beguile, betray, bluff, misrepresent, manipulate, delude, double-cross, illude

Nearby words

  1. jugendstil,
  2. jugful,
  3. jugged hare,
  4. juggernaut,
  5. juggins,
  6. juggler,
  7. jugglery,
  8. jughead,
  9. juglandaceous,
  10. jugoslav

Origin of juggle

1350–1400; Middle English jog(e)len < Old French jogler to serve as buffoon or jester < Late Latin joculāre to joke (replacing Latin joculārī), equivalent to Latin jocul(us) (joc(us) joke + -ulus -ule) + -āre infinitive suffix
Related formsjug·gling·ly, adverbout·jug·gle, verb (used with object), out·jug·gled, out·jug·gling.un·jug·gled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for juggle

British Dictionary definitions for juggle

juggle

verb

to throw and catch (several objects) continuously so that most are in the air all the time, as an entertainment
to arrange or manipulate (facts, figures, etc) so as to give a false or misleading picture
(tr) to keep (several activities) in progress, esp with difficulty

noun

an act of juggling
Derived Formsjugglery, noun

Word Origin for juggle

C14: from Old French jogler to perform as a jester, from Latin joculārī to jest, from jocus a jest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for juggle

juggle

v.

late 14c., "entertain by clowning or doing tricks," back-formation from juggler and in part from Old French jogler "play tricks, sing songs," from Late Latin ioculare (source of Italian giocolare), from Latin ioculari "to jest" (see jocular). Related: Juggled; juggling.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper