pas·to·ral
ˈpa-st(ə-)rəl 
nonstandard pa-ˈstȯr-əl
1
a(1)
: of, relating to, or composed of shepherds or herdsmen
a pastoral people, seminomadic in their habits—
J. M. Mogey
J. M. Mogey
(2)
: devoted to or based on livestock raising
a pastoral economy
b
: of or relating to the countryside : not urban
a pastoral setting
c
: portraying or expressive of the life of shepherds or country people especially in an idealized and conventionalized manner
pastoral poetry
a pastoral symphony
d
: pleasingly peaceful and innocent : idyllic
pastoral dreams were shattered by the year's round of … unwelcome visitors, ruinous floods and procrastinating workmen—Betty Fussell
Betty Fussell2
a
: of or relating to spiritual care or guidance especially of a congregation
pastoral counseling
b
: of or relating to the pastor of a church
pastoral duties
pastoralness
noun
pas·to·ral
ˈpa-st(ə-)rəl
-ˈral
sense 1d is often
ˌpa-stə-ˈräl
-ˈral
plural pastorals
1
a
: a literary work (such as a poem or play) dealing with shepherds or rural life in a usually artificial manner and typically drawing a contrast between the innocence and serenity of the simple life and the misery and corruption of city and especially court life
b
: pastoral poetry or drama
c
: a rural picture or scene
2
3
: a letter of a pastor to a charge: such as
a
: a letter addressed by a bishop to the bishop's diocese
b
: a letter of the house of bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church to be read in each parish
Examples of pastoral in a Sentence
Adjective
The house is situated in a charming pastoral setting.
Her favorite painting in the collection is a pastoral landscape.
The bishop outlined the church's views in a pastoral letter.
Recent Examples on the WebWIRED, 19 Sep. 2023
With holdings that span coasts and countries, he’s snagged everything from an idyllic trifecta of homes in London’s pastoral Hampstead Heath to modern mansions along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 23 June 2023
The residence, which sits on a private cul-de-sac, is wrapped in Alaskan cedar board siding and comprises three, two-story structures that offer either Atlantic Ocean or pastoral Sagg Pond views.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 1 Sep. 2023
Available today, the limited-edition collection is made up of a range of beloved kitchen essentials, all depicting stunning scenes inspired by Black life and culture through the iconic pastoral motifs of French country life.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2023
If the pastoral views are not enough to shed your stress, head over to the 15,000-square-foot spa to decompress with treatments that use botanicals and ingredients, some from the farm.
—Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023
But bovids have fashioned a pastoral landscape that a hiker would recognize in crossing northern England, a place that cows and sheep have kept clear for centuries.
—WIRED, 26 Aug. 2023
Many of their selections are far from the pastoral climes of their 2022 album Ashbalkum.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 22 Aug. 2023
The Los Angeles abode is one of many homes Styles owns, from residences in London’s pastoral Hampstead Heath to chic New York apartments.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 21 Aug. 2023
Christopher Benfey, The New York Review of Books, 14 Sep. 2023
In Row’s vision of the Trump era, there is no American pastoral to return to, long for, or even to mourn; there is only the hope of escape and of freedom from illusions.
—Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 17 May 2023
If nature is made secondary to human will, as in classical and Enlightenment times, then a care for nature expresses itself in bucolics and pastorals—nature as a setting for human amorousness or agriculture.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
But the unprovoked military invasion of the Russian army destroyed this pastoral.
—Yuriy Zaliznyak, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2023
The work is not a simple illustration but melds the personal with the fantastical, the pastoral with the profane.
—Dallas News, 13 Jan. 2022
Instead of an invasion, the archaeological evidence revealed a gradual evolution from a pastoral to an agricultural society.
—Pamela Weintraub, Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2015
Instead of rising to this responsibility, Gomez — L.A.'s first archbishop of Mexican descent — has shirked it by paying more attention to the political than the pastoral.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022
The pastoral of Shakespeare lies deep beneath the play’s surface, and below that are even older cultural strains.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 19 June 2022
See More
Adjective
But they were also deeply enmeshed in the politics of their time—not least because some of those pastoral retreats were in fact the result of exile by the court.
—WIRED, 19 Sep. 2023
With holdings that span coasts and countries, he’s snagged everything from an idyllic trifecta of homes in London’s pastoral Hampstead Heath to modern mansions along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 23 June 2023
The residence, which sits on a private cul-de-sac, is wrapped in Alaskan cedar board siding and comprises three, two-story structures that offer either Atlantic Ocean or pastoral Sagg Pond views.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 1 Sep. 2023
Available today, the limited-edition collection is made up of a range of beloved kitchen essentials, all depicting stunning scenes inspired by Black life and culture through the iconic pastoral motifs of French country life.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2023
If the pastoral views are not enough to shed your stress, head over to the 15,000-square-foot spa to decompress with treatments that use botanicals and ingredients, some from the farm.
—Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023
But bovids have fashioned a pastoral landscape that a hiker would recognize in crossing northern England, a place that cows and sheep have kept clear for centuries.
—WIRED, 26 Aug. 2023
Many of their selections are far from the pastoral climes of their 2022 album Ashbalkum.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 22 Aug. 2023
The Los Angeles abode is one of many homes Styles owns, from residences in London’s pastoral Hampstead Heath to chic New York apartments.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 21 Aug. 2023
Noun
As in all pastorals, there is an element of fantasy in these serene depictions, which portray a world partly remembered from Constable’s childhood and partly invented from the conventions of art history, in this case the carefully balanced landscapes of Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
—Christopher Benfey, The New York Review of Books, 14 Sep. 2023
In Row’s vision of the Trump era, there is no American pastoral to return to, long for, or even to mourn; there is only the hope of escape and of freedom from illusions.
—Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 17 May 2023
If nature is made secondary to human will, as in classical and Enlightenment times, then a care for nature expresses itself in bucolics and pastorals—nature as a setting for human amorousness or agriculture.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
But the unprovoked military invasion of the Russian army destroyed this pastoral.
—Yuriy Zaliznyak, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2023
The work is not a simple illustration but melds the personal with the fantastical, the pastoral with the profane.
—Dallas News, 13 Jan. 2022
Instead of an invasion, the archaeological evidence revealed a gradual evolution from a pastoral to an agricultural society.
—Pamela Weintraub, Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2015
Instead of rising to this responsibility, Gomez — L.A.'s first archbishop of Mexican descent — has shirked it by paying more attention to the political than the pastoral.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022
The pastoral of Shakespeare lies deep beneath the play’s surface, and below that are even older cultural strains.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 19 June 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pastoral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Middle English, from Latin pastoralis, from pastor herdsman
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Noun
1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of pastoral was
in the 15th century
Articles Related to pastoral
Dictionary Entries Near pastoral
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastoral. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
pastoral
1 of 2 adjective
pas·to·ral
ˈpas-t(ə-)rəl
1
a
: of or relating to shepherds or rural life
b
: devoted to or based on livestock raising
2
: of or relating to the pastor of a church
pastoral
2 of 2 noun
pas·to·ral
ˈpas-t(ə-)rəl,
sense 3 is often ˌpas-tə-ˈräl,
-ˈral
More from Merriam-Webster on pastoral
Nglish: Translation of pastoral for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of pastoral for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pastoral
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