pastoral 1 of 2

adjective

ˈpa-st(ə-)rəl How to pronounce pastoral (audio)
Definition of pastoralnext
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

pastoral

2 of 2

noun

as in pastorale

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pastoral
Adjective
But Smith’s direction of the pilot’s opening scenes also drives home the series’ tone, which turns on a dime between pastoral quietude and thrilling action. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026 Rodeos in rural Australia are more modest affairs, with distinct cultural origins rooted in pastoral stations and country towns. — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Noun
Who would not raise a glass to the memory of so vexed a merrymaker, under whose spell the city is transformed into an exotic pastoral? — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 The pastoral, yet bittersweet lament has turned into something of an emotionally restorative California wildfire reflection. — Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
  1. rural
  2. ministerial
  3. pastorale
  4. idyll
  5. elegy
  6. psalm
  7. madrigal
  8. epic
Adjective
  • Jones has backed Amendment 4 on his Facebook page, sharing an opinion piece that argues rural voters have less of a say in the ballot initiative process currently used by the state and are negatively affected by metropolitan agendas.
    — Sophie Lindberg July 27, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026
  • Espinosa said the detention facility’s rural location will put a stranglehold on transparency and communication.
    — Noah Vinsky July 25, Charlotte Observer, 26 July 2026
Definition of rural
Adjective
  • Whatever the outcome of the ministerial meeting, there is no version that will make Americans safer.
    — Jason M. Blazakis, The Conversation, 22 July 2026
  • For avid politicos, there have been so many prime ministerial resignations over the last few years that some Downing Street staff have become like fan-favorite, recurring characters in a TV show.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
Definition of ministerial
Noun
  • Including 55 serious operas, 6 cantatas, 53 comic operas, 17 operettas, 6 sing-spiele, 4 ballets, 4 vaudevilles, 2 oratorios, one each of fares, pastorales, masques, ballads and buffas.
    — WILLIAM ROBIN, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2017
Definition of pastorale
Noun
  • The walls had a nominal utility as fences for the dairy herd that was milked in the great white cow barn, but this was only ever a Gilded Age fantasy of the rustic idyll.
    — Matt Seaton, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026
  • But from here, in Jacopo’s one-hectare garden, you are tucked away in a Tuscan rural idyll.
    — Zoë Dare Hall, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of idyll
Noun
  • But that selflessness comes to feel like the point of this lingering, resonantly sad film — above all else, an elegy for lives unseen and unknown.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 July 2026
  • What begins as a novel ostensibly about ‘cancel culture’ quickly shifts into a rueful elegy for a dying world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026
Definition of elegy
Noun
  • Take The Music Lesson, a study of a young woman playing the virginal, closely watched by a gentleman, which Graham-Dixon reads as a depiction of Collegiants chastely performing and singing psalms.
    — Clare Bucknell, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • Over the course of Gregory Orr’s long career, his poems have become increasingly incantatory, more and more like chants or psalms, repeating, reformulating, reaching for the edges of the same rich metaphors.
    — Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
Definition of psalm
Noun
  • The concert will include Renaissance madrigals—one English and one French.
    — Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
  • This is a lovely fundraiser to assist in the preservation of the cemetery, and the day is filled with master gardeners offering advice, madrigals singing, an archaeology talk, refreshments, kids’ activities and lots of lovely spring plants for sale.
    — Janet Kusterer, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2025
Definition of madrigal
Noun
  • But University of Pennsylvania classics scholar Emily Wilson, who published her own translation of Homer's epic in 2017, says Nolan's script is poorly written and lacking in emotional depth and character development.
    — Dave Davies, NPR, 29 July 2026
  • Zendaya plays the ancient Greek goddess Athena, and Holland portrays Telemachus, son of Matt Damon’s Odysseus and Anne Hathaway’s Penelope, in the new epic from Christopher Nolan.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
Definition of epic

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Cite this Entry

“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pastoral

Nglish: Translation of pastoral for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pastoral

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