juju

[ joo-joo ]

noun

1. an object venerated superstitiously and used as a fetish or amulet in West African spiritual practices.
2. the magical power attributed to such an object.
3. Informal. an emanating aura or supernatural force: The team chalked up that string of unfortunate losses to bad juju on the road.

   The charismatic lead singer has serious juju.

   The team chalked up that string of unfortunate losses to bad juju on the road.

juju

/ ˈdʒuːdʒuː /

noun

1. an object superstitiously revered by certain W African peoples and used as a charm or fetish
2. the power associated with a juju
3. a taboo effected by a juju
4. any process in which a mystery is exploited to confuse people

Derived Forms

• ˈjujuist, noun
• ˈjujuism, noun

Other Words From

• ju·ju·ism noun
• ju·ju·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of juju¹

First recorded in 1890–95; allegedly from Hausa jūjū “fetish,” from French joujou “toy, plaything”

Word History and Origins

Origin of juju¹

C19: probably from Hausa djudju evil spirit, fetish

Example Sentences

It has a whole lot of bad juju associated with stealing it from a community nonprofit.

From Seattle Times

The easiest is with mojos and jujus, which control the elements.

From Literature

After a rough run in the early 2000s, the director Oliver Stone took a shot at recapturing some of his “Natural Born Killers” juju with this 2012 adaptation of Don Winslow’s crime novel.

From New York Times

She joked during our Zoom call that I had good juju.

From Los Angeles Times

“Why not us? … It’s very inspirational and hopefully we can get some of that juju.”

From Seattle Times