Jonah

American  

[joh-nuh] / ˈdʒoʊ nə /

noun

1. a Minor Prophet who, for his impiety, was thrown overboard from his ship and swallowed by a large fish, remaining in its belly for three days before being cast up onto the shore unharmed.

2. a book of the Bible bearing his name.

3. any person or thing regarded as bringing bad luck.

4. Also Jonas a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “dove.”

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Jonah British  

/ ˈdʒəʊnə /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. a Hebrew prophet who, having been thrown overboard from a ship in which he was fleeing from God, was swallowed by a great fish and vomited onto dry land

   2. the book in which his adventures are recounted

2. a person believed to bring bad luck to those around him; a jinx

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Other Word Forms

• Jonahesque
  adjective

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Jonah

News of the discoveries eventually reached Jonah Choiniere at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

Raj Chetty, John Friedman and Jonah Rockoff found that students assigned more-effective teachers were likelier to attend college and earned more as adults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Dolly is like a mother to everyone who lives here," said 24-year-old local Jonah La Grand, clad in a Dolly Parton t-shirt and speaking of her in the present tense.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

For much of his young life Jonah thought he was one-half Danish.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

I tug at the bottom of my running shorts, which suddenly seem way too short, and Jonah shrugs the most infuriating shrug in the history of shoulders.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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Related Words

• unlucky
• woeful

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