pastoral

1 of 2

adjective

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

(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

2

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

pastorally

ˈpa-st(ə-)rə-lē 

adverb

pastoralness noun

pastoral

2 of 2

noun

pas·​to·​ral ˈpa-st(ə-)rəl 

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

d

: pastorale sense 1a

2

: crosier sense 1

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

Synonyms of pastoral

Adjective

• rural

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 Web

Adjective

Unlike New York’s more famous Central Park, Union Square quickly shed its quiet, pastoral character for more active use by the public in the mid-nineteenth century. —JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2025

The bag comes with a series of leather charms in the shape of fruit and vegetables including lemons, carrots and strawberries — a nod to Jacquemus’ pastoral roots in Provence, where one side of the family farmed carrots; the other, artichokes and spinach. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 12 Nov. 2025

Noun

But in their own ways, these two very different actors — she, the eccentric spirit of New Hollywood comedy; he, the golden-boy stoic of the American pastoral — were bound by something even more powerful than onscreen chemistry: generational gravity. —Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025

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

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

Rhymes for pastoral

• pastorale

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

1

: a literary work dealing with shepherds or rural life

2

: a rural picture or scene

3

: pastorale