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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pastoral
Cyril E. Holland, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2025
He's never led a diocese, though, a significant gap in pastoral experience that his supporters say is tempered by his work with the faithful as the pope's representative around the world.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 7 May 2025
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
For those who make the trek, the week will be filled with events ranging from the pastoral to the glamourous to the overtly highbrow.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Adjective
The Todas — only 1,000 or so in all — area pastoral people unlike any other tribes in India.
—Cyril E. Holland, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2025
He's never led a diocese, though, a significant gap in pastoral experience that his supporters say is tempered by his work with the faithful as the pope's representative around the world.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 7 May 2025
Noun
Science emerges as a version of the pastoral, with the physicist as swain.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
For those who make the trek, the week will be filled with events ranging from the pastoral to the glamourous to the overtly highbrow.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
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Your best bet is to find a dark location away from the city, ideally somewhere rural but also elevated.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
20 May 2025
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The news highlights SpaceX’s ongoing push to promote the satellite internet service, which has received rave reviews for its ability to deliver high-speed broadband to rural and remote areas.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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The approval process for the project is ministerial, meaning the applicant does not need to seek public input and that review by city staff does not need to include public hearings.—
Robert Vardon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2025
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Decades in the making Nearly two decades have passed since the European Space Agency formally committed to funding the ExoMars mission at a ministerial meeting in December 2005.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But the idyll is illusory – Kashmir is one of the world’s most militarized regions and the trigger for multiple wars between India and Pakistan, who both claim the territory in full but control only in part.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
14 May 2025
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Each had an alfresco dining area and a view over the Lago di Burano Nature Reserve wetlands to the line of dunes that separates this coastal idyll from the beach.—
Lee Marshall,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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It’s remained in the company’s repertoire for decades, and the use of Coltrane’s elegy for the love of her life has made that music into two dirges, one for husband John Coltrane and another for the woman on the invisible mourner’s bench honoring and channeling him for the rest of her days.—
Harmony Holiday,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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Lucas’s final film is a kind of elegy for an entire style of personal blockbuster filmmaking, Williams’ funeral music in the last moments fitting for the director’s last moments behind the camera.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The funeral of Pope Francis began with a short musical chant and psalm spoken in Latin after an open Book of the Gospels had been placed on top of Pope Francis’ closed coffin carried by pallbearers from inside St. Peter’s and placed on a red carpet on the edge of the church steps.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2025
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The faithful will recite several religious verses, including psalm 22, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd,’ during the service.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 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 800-page epic starts slowly, as McMurtry introduces readers to a couple of former Texas Rangers and their bumbling ranch hands in 1870s South Texas.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2025
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The controversial and violent epic became a rage in 1967, bringing the duo an Oscar nomination.—
Carmel Dagan,
Variety,
13 May 2025
Noun
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It’s not known if the 11 parents who applied to call their child King meant it as an ode to Charles, but all were asked to have a rethink, according to Crawford-Smith.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
15 May 2025
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Marina’s Tapas, which opened in early December 2024, is an ode to Kaifer’s Spanish great-grandmother.—
Kayleigh Ruller,
Charlotte Observer,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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