Are "jungle" and "rain forest" synonymous?

Question

If not, what's the difference?

Answer 1

A Rainforest can be described as a tall, dense jungle. The reason it is called a "rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year.

So since it is a dense jungle, then the two terms are synonymous.

Answer 2

Rain forest is a specific term qualifying primary forest with a large diversity of species, some specific to the area.

I visited the rain forest in Costa Rica and it is amazing.

Answer 3

As far as I can tell a person can easily walk through a rainforest. Dense areas that are too overgrown to walk through easily are considered jungles. See these links for more info:

http://www.ladatco.com/rf-abt.htm#Is%20t...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/l...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/j...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/r...

Answer 4

The term jungle is generally applied to the tropical rain forests, especially those with dense, diverse undergrowth.

Whereas, rain forest will apply to any forest that receives large quantities of precipitation regardless of  tropical or temperate locale.

The western forests of the U.S. (along the coast from S.E. Alaska to California) are temperate rain forests, but not generally thought of as a jungle.

You could safely use "jungle" as a synonym for "tropical rain forest" but not "rain forest."

Answer 5

Synonymous means alike in meaning or significance, so I think you could call jungle and rain forest synonyms. They have come to mean the same thing and I don't think that you could separate one from the other.