PROVINCIAL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

provincial 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of provincial

as in parochial

not broad or open in views or opinions some people regard a fear of new things as an unmistakable sign of a provincial attitude

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

provincial

2 of 2

noun

prə-ˈvin(t)-shəl

as in peasant

an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country the confidence man figured that fleecing these provincials would be easy

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of provincial

Adjective

The accident occurred in Kohat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Bilal Faizi of the provincial emergency service. — ABC News, 14 July 2026 For a provincial French feel, there’s no sweeter dress for the job than this dreamy 100 percent cotton Tobie mididress. — Irene Richardson, InStyle, 14 July 2026

Noun

Not long after his ordination, he was named the Jesuit provincial for Argentina, which put him in charge of the order’s activities throughout the country. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025 The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order. — Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for provincial

Recent Examples of Synonyms for provincial

Adjective

Many children in Florida attending private, parochial or homeschool programs do not take the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, or FAST, test, which is used by Florida’s public school districts to measure students’ achievement.

— Kendall Deas, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
They are hired hands and stewards of other people’s capital, with no desire to becoming embroiled in internecine squabbles between clashing advocates, parochial activists, and plain opportunists latching on to the moment.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026

Definition of parochial

Noun

Capitalizing on the tide of anti-Rhaenyra sentiment rising among the peasants of King's Landing, Ormund plots to sow further unrest by paying off a band of smallfolk to brutally torture and kill members of the City Watch.

— Megan McCluskey, Time, 20 July 2026
The historian Eugen Weber wrote influentially of how peasants who spoke languages like Occitan, Breton, or Basque became—or, more honestly, were made—Frenchmen.

— Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Definition of peasant

Adjective

The division charged with keeping a handle on parasitic diseases had already been small, with only a few employees designated to parasite work.

— Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
When states lose the authority to set their own food safety and agricultural standards, consumers and small farmers pay the price.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026

Definition of small

Noun

When Johnson was vice president and visiting Europe, there were reports filed by these British ambassadors in several countries that basically made fun of him as a hick.

— Wendy Naugle, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
So a bunch of hicks from Topeka were left up to our own devices of going down to Robert Hall and finding something that might be kind of cool.

— Devon Ivie, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of hick

Adjective

The Greek myths are rife with petty and meddlesome deities squabbling, playing favorites, punishing harshly, and otherwise wreaking havoc on the lives of mortal men.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026
In each social-commentary-teetering-on-horror episode, Nanno is a pupil at a different school, picture perfect and scanning the room for whatever secrets — an abusive teacher, an absurd hierarchical system, petty jealousy — demand to be revealed.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of petty

Noun

Havelock Island is the main island of the archipelago, and has a rustic, Costa Rica-meets-Maldives feel.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2026
Big Cedar Lodge Ridgedale, Missouri For a luxury-meets-rustic escape, head to Big Cedar Lodge overlooking Table Rock Lake.

— Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 6 May 2026

Definition of rustic

Adjective

That ought to be advantageous for the Spaniard, who seemed too often to run aground when trapped inside in a more narrow system.

— Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 July 2026
But the school board is the most notable exception, where Republicans cling to a narrow 4-3 majority after years of bruising elections.

— Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 21 July 2026

Definition of narrow

Noun

It was left to the feds in Boston to arrest Farwell, after Meatball’s local yokels adamantly refused to do anything other than try to broom the crime by one of their own.

— Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Part of his way of taking it yokel — besides bringing in Foo Fighter Rami Jaffee on accordion and Willie Aron blowing harmonica — was to add a previously unheard yodel to the chorus.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025

Definition of yokel

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provinces

provincial

provincialism

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“Provincial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provincial. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of provincial

adjective

noun

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