1
as in rural
of, relating to, associated with, or typical of open areas with few buildings or people
painted a pastoral scene of a flower-filled meadow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ministerial
of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy
pastoral advice to a young couple preparing to marry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pastorale
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pastoral
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
The difference is that Frost’s poems are mourning not a friend but the pastoral life the poet has left behind, and mourning, too, his eldest child, Elliott, who died at age three, of cholera, in 1900.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2024
This blend of the pastoral and the religious made the Senegal River feel like an archaic vision of paradise, a strip of vivid life in an otherwise unforgiving environment.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Adjective
There’s a pastoral serenity to the place, with geese waddling in a line and sheep and cows grazing, but Munir continues to carry his sadness like a heavy burden.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
The difference is that Frost’s poems are mourning not a friend but the pastoral life the poet has left behind, and mourning, too, his eldest child, Elliott, who died at age three, of cholera, in 1900.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Noun
As with Home, the story is about a return to the pastoral, at least ostensibly: Marina (Maggie Siff, always two ticks better than her material) is a broadcast journalist who’s trying to settle down after a career spent in war zones.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2024
This blend of the pastoral and the religious made the Senegal River feel like an archaic vision of paradise, a strip of vivid life in an otherwise unforgiving environment.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
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One such measure includes a modest increase in minimum basic benefits for elderly people in rural areas and unemployed individuals in cities, Reuters reported this week.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
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Another of these coveted rural listings, this one on the eastern edge of California‘s Santa Ynez Valley, a wine-growing region about 30 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, is up for grabs for a cool $20 million.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Extending phase one indefinitely would suit an Israeli prime minister whose extremist ministerial allies want to start bombing Gaza again and then re-establish the Jewish settlements that Israel forced out 20 years ago.—
Mick Krever,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
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Zelensky added that the deal will be signed at a ministerial level and the details of his possible trip to Washington on Friday are still being worked out.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Lincoln plays John, repressed and raging at his stay-at-home life who moves his family to rural idyll Coldwater.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2025
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The lo-fi minimalism of her previous records has ceded to a gaseous soft-pop idyll in which strummed chords fan out like galaxies and endless reverb signals the unfathomable reach of the infinite.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
3 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In fact, the opening moments play out like an elegy for the whole nation: a school boarded up, with empty corridors and empty classrooms.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
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As photographed by Austin Shelton, the widescreen images — and even the vertical TikTok videos braided alongside — convey a hopeful vision of their future, more fresh start than elegy.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The Lady Olive certainly sank: All of its crew members escaped in lifeboats, singing psalms to stave off hypothermia, and were saved after 36 hours at sea.—
Sean Kingsley,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Feb. 2025
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He is known as the patron saint of bookbinders and wrote an illustrative book of psalms while at the monastery of St. Finnian, according to Discovering Ireland.—
Joyce Orlando,
The Tennessean,
15 Mar. 2024
Noun
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The service and concert will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at the church, 815 S. Washington St. Castle Singers are vocalists who perform a variety of chamber repertoire, varying from Renaissance madrigals and motets to contemporary pop and vocal jazz.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
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At best, Gidden’s singing and arrangement of a Monteverdi madrigal achieve remarkable eloquence.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Sep. 2021
Noun
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In the end, Brady Corbet’s historic epic, made for under $10 million, earned close to $16 million at the domestic box office and more than $41 million worldwide.—
Jordan Mintzer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
4 Mar. 2025
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In this personal, intimate three-decade-spanning epic — Sorrentino’s follow-up to 2021’s lauded The Hand of God — a young Parthenope comes of age amid the backdrop of family turmoil and tragedy, pursuing a life of education and wonder.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Without labeling itself as such, F&B Downtown is an ode to culinary fusion.—
Daphne Ewing-Chow,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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Our ode to those cafeteria rolls have a gorgeous golden brown, buttery exterior and a tender, fluffy center.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to pastoral
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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