Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

jonestown

/dʒˈoʊnztaʊn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.35 in modern English

Syllables: jon-estown
IPA: /dʒˈoʊnztaʊn/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.

name

The Jonestown massacre itself.

Informal

name

Any of a number of other places in the English-speaking world.

noun

Any mass suicide or murder, especially one with religious or cultic overtones.

Etymology

From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

Jonestowns (plural)

Derived Forms

Jonestowner

Phrases

drink the Kool-Aid

Frequently Paired Words

drink the Kool-Aid

Questions

How do you pronounce jonestown?: The recorded pronunciation is /dʒˈoʊnztaʊn/.
What does jonestown mean?: A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.
Where does jonestown come from?: From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple.

How to pronounce jonestown

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “jonestown”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dʒˈoʊnztaʊn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “jonestown”.
Repeat and practice — Say “jonestown” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.