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pas·to·ral·ism | \ ˈpa-st(ə-)rə-ˌli-zəm 
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\Definition of pastoralism
1 : the quality or style characteristic of pastoral writing
2a : livestock raising
b : social organization based on livestock raising as the primary economic activity
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Other Words from pastoralism
pastoralist \ ˈpa-st(ə-)rə-list \ noun or adjective
\ noun or adjectiveExamples of pastoralism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web With pastoralism and agriculture, the animal was just an animal, forever separated from man.
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New York Times, "‘The Celestial Hunter,’ by Roberto Calasso: An Excerpt," 28 Apr. 2020 Here, capitalism and pastoralism are often seen as opposing forces.
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Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "There Are No Losers in the Animal Crossing Economy," 15 Apr. 2020 But according to the Tom Nook doctrine, pastoralism and capitalism coexist perfectly.
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Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "There Are No Losers in the Animal Crossing Economy," 15 Apr. 2020 Our survey also revealed that hunting and foraging was generally replaced by pastoralism (raising animals such as cows and sheep for food and other resources) and agriculture in most places, though there were exceptions.
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Ben Marwick, The Conversation, "Surveying archaeologists across the globe reveals deeper and more widespread roots of the human age, the Anthropocene," 29 Aug. 2019 Today the national park has put measures in place to assure that pastoralism can work alongside conservationism: Farmers are insured and compensated if one of their animals is preyed upon by a wolf.
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National Geographic, "How to go wild in the French Riviera," 5 Aug. 2019 The Himba response to the aridity of Kaokoland is nomadic pastoralism.
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Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, "Going Off-Grid in Namibia," 21 Dec. 2018 There is still a green thread of pastoralism, with Delius, Butterworth and Bax all represented, and Mr. Elder seems most comfortable in that idiom.
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David Allen, New York Times, "A Critic’s First Orchestra Defines Britain’s Musical Soul," 15 June 2018 Many conflicts play out in rural areas characterized by smallholder agriculture or pastoralism.
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Leah Samberg, USA TODAY, "World hunger increases for the first time in 15 years," 19 Oct. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pastoralism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for pastoralism
The first known use of pastoralism was in 1842
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