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
Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
Leo met Thursday with German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who — despite Fernández’s letter — recently recommended that priests in his archdiocese use the German guidelines as a basis for their pastoral care.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 11 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Adjective
These are not pretty, chintzy designs referencing a pastoral idyll.
—Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
Leo met Thursday with German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who — despite Fernández’s letter — recently recommended that priests in his archdiocese use the German guidelines as a basis for their pastoral care.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Noun
The pastoral, yet bittersweet lament has turned into something of an emotionally restorative California wildfire reflection.
—Marcus K. Dowling, Nashville Tennessean, 11 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
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Subscribe now » Contributing Writer Sarah Melotte is a geographer and journalist whose work focuses on rural America.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
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Meanwhile, Sánchez, a former minister now popular with rural voters, has pledged to combat corruption within the police force and promote reforms that would enable the military to support security efforts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
The ministerial list was announced by his new prime minister, economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo.—
Jenny Vaughan,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
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Others, like German chief of defense General Carsten Breuer, said that China is losing a chance at dialogue by not having a ministerial-level delegation.—
Lim Hui Jie,Joanna Ossinger,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
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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If powder-white beaches, turquoise waters, and lush jungles are at the top of your travel itinerary, the following 11 idylls are must-gos, where nature is at its most relaxed and pleasurable.—
Skyli Alvarez,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 May 2026
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Rescuing utopian idyll from dystopian reality, Koreeda determines that humanity is too fragile to forfeit its defining qualities to a mechanical species; that our only viable function in an artificial tomorrow is as the eternal caretakers of memory and imagination.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Noun
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When The Last Ship, a musical that serves as an elegy to Wallsend, the hardscrabble Northern England shipyard town Sting grew up in, debuted on Broadway in 2014, the critical reception was disappointing.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
4 June 2026
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Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and newcomer Luther Ford co-star in this elegy defiantly tethered to life.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Noun
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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
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The epitome of that tradition is Choral Evensong, an evening service of hymns, psalms and prayers laid out by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of the Church of England, in 1549.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Spiritual Sound Marc-André Hamelin, Found Objects / Sound Objects The Beths, Straight Line Was a Lie A year like no other, my 2025 in music was filled with joyous arias and madrigals of melancholy.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
29 Dec. 2025
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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
Noun
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The mysterious epic starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth will face off against some of the steepest competition at the box office this year thus far.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 June 2026
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Under a special arrangement between Universal and the Village Directors Circle, the collective of filmmakers led by Jason Reitman that bought the movie palace in 2024, American Cinematheque will screen Christopher Nolan’s new epic The Odyssey in a special three-week engagement beginning July 17.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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