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
Relevance
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
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pastoral
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
Elsewhere, Abercrombie’s pastorals are almost like burlesques of plein air painting.
—Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Deep in the Shenandoah Valley, Lexington, Virginia, is a small town steeped in history and rich in pastoral landscapes.
—Heather Bien, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Adjective
His voice is the ghost in the machine, a strangely humane presence amid all the urban-industrial pastoral.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
Elsewhere, Abercrombie’s pastorals are almost like burlesques of plein air painting.
—Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
Same-sex desire also appears throughout Virgil’s pastoral poems, the Eclogues.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Deep in the Shenandoah Valley, Lexington, Virginia, is a small town steeped in history and rich in pastoral landscapes.
—Heather Bien, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
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The 22-year-old was one of nearly 1,000 partygoers who attended the event, which was held at a rural farmhouse in Frenchtown Township, Mich.—
Kelsey Lentz,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Among them are a shortage of child-care educators, trouble creating care options that meet families’ needs, some providers’ reluctance to accept state vouchers, and uneven care availability in rural areas.—
Elliot Haspel,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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To that end, the WTO has convened a group of nearly 70 members to negotiate a landmark e‑commerce agreement — the first of its kind — with a first phase expected by the March 2026 ministerial conference.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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Takaichi’s career in politics spans across a handful of ministerial posts and a decade in Japan’s congress.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
Noun
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This idyll on the banks of the Hudson, alas, cannot last, and the son inherits his father’s appetite for action with interest.—
Nick Pinkerton,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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But his last two years proved anything but an idyll.—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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At the juncture between postwar noir and golden-age melodrama is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, a saturnine elegy to a lost Hollywood of the silent era, when faces and charisma were more desirable than voices or talent.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
23 Oct. 2025
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Harmony Holiday’s elegy/essay for D’Angelo is a stunning piece of writing.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Tutivillus, who totted up all the mistakes clergymen made when singing hymns or reciting psalms.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
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The basilica was temporarily shut down on Monday, Oct. 13, and prayers and psalms were said as holy water was showered on the altar, according to the outlet.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The fantasy epic starred Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Grace VanderWaal, Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman, plus Coppola’s sister Talia Shire and her son Jason Schwartzman.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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Proudfoot and his team, including Kris Bowers, pull all the right (if predictable) emotional strings, underscoring Hesse’s memories with majestic orchestral music fit for an Old Hollywood epic.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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