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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 prison in Hazm, the Jawf provincial capital, collapsed on Monday when coalition strikes hit the area, killing at least 23 people, including the four whose bodies were found on Wednesday. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 The provincial government says the investment will strengthen aerospace capacity and support skilled employment in the province. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 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

Among the bureaucratic, parochial, pastoral and familial spaces his work takes his clients, a reflection on roots, gentrification and the act of remaining emerges.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
In some cases, opposition might amount to parochial not in my backyard — or NIMBY — concerns.

— Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of parochial

Noun

That is, until the teenage King Richard II’s counsel pushed for the peasant farmers to pay more tax.

— Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
The Christy star put a boho-chic spin on overalls, styling them with a cropped peasant blouse that featured frilly puff sleeves.

— Hannah Malach, InStyle, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of peasant

Adjective

Rooms This is a big hotel, with 177 rooms and suites that range in size and shape from the smallest superior rooms to the impressive top-floor penthouse.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026
Newsom, in his veto message at the time, cited concerns about stifling innovation and said smaller AI models, which would have been exempt from the law, could also be dangerous.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 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 good and the bad of democracy — healthy debate and petty political theater — were on display that weekend in Brussels.

— Esther King, The Dial, 15 Sep. 2026
Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of petty

Noun

Kerry learned this the hard way after allowing Jordan to question what appeared to be a local yokel over the mysterious shooting at a Rushville high school football game.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of yokel

Adjective

Louisville and Boise State don’t move much after narrow losses to top-10 teams.

— Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
The extremely short, picometer-scale wavelength of nuclear-decay neutrinos makes the possible collective emission cone extraordinarily narrow.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of narrow

Noun

Target recently received backlash for 'offensive' Halloween costume This comes on the heels of Target apologizing in late August for a Halloween circus clown costume that critics said appeared to conjure Blackface and 19th-century minstrel shows.

— Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Cam Schlittler, no stranger to Boston beef, used an emoji to call Flemming a clown on an Instagram post.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of clown

Browse Nearby Words

provinces

provincial

provincialism

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Provincial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provincial. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of provincial

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

volition

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes