Jonestown

American  

[johnz-toun] / ˈdʒoʊnzˌtaʊn /

noun

1. a former settlement in northern Guyana, northwest of Georgetown: an agricultural commune of an American religious cult called the Peoples Temple, infamous as the site of a mass suicide and murder in 1978.

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Example Sentences

Instead, most resemble the residents of Jonestown, many who hoped Jim Jones was testing their faith with all this poison-Kool-Aid talk, which allowed them to play along until it was too late to save themselves.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2025

WallyGator is a working emotional support alligator owned by Joie Henney, of Jonestown, Pennsylvania.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 28, 2023

Congressman Leo Ryan visited Jonestown out of concern for the well-being of Jones’ followers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2023

His Jonestown studies focused on those suffering severe forms of narcissistic personality disorder, “when the world they have known in the past starts to spin out of their control.”

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2021

Then there were the Tracys, who ran—and still run—a queer little ferry at Jonestown, “according to seasons.”

From A Northern Countryside by Richards, Rosalind