as in pastoral
of, relating to, associated with, or typical of open areas with few buildings or people grew up in a rural community where more than half the people were farmers a painter noted for his rural landscapes

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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 rural Over 35 years, China has shifted from steam-era rail and rural villages to nationwide high-speed electrification and megacities — a great leap forward in material progress. Peter Leyden, Big Think, 7 Oct. 2025 What’s more, rural Americans, already under pressure from the state of the economy, face higher risks. Christopher Robertson, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025 The organization, located on a rural campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains, provides artists with time, space and funding to pursue new works. Liz Rothaus Bertrand, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2025 Tribal and rural communities don't have a lot of access to capital to get renewable energy projects started, explains Fletcher Wilkinson, who is the energy manager at Hopi Utilities Corporation. Nate Perez, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rural
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rural
Adjective
  • The Valley of Wyoming…shows a pastoral landscape of grazing cows and lounging people—something that only a person knowledgeable about the region would recognize as a former forest.
    Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Now era long, straight hair, sits up as the pastoral scene is literally pulled apart by stagehands, revealed as nothing more than show business trickery.
    Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The multi-country co-production is led by Chile’s Catalina Vergara of Globo Rojo Films.
    Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Fellow country singer Luke Bryan is also returning as a judge, making Lionel Richie the only non-country artist in a prominent role on the show.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Gooamp Ceramic Essential Oil Diffuser More than 4,000 shoppers just bought this gorgeous diffuser with a matte finish that goes with rustic decor.
    Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Built in 1878, the rustic dance hall has been part of the community for nearly 150 years and has welcomed country legends like Willie Nelson, George Strait, and Kacey Musgraves.
    Lauren Jones, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Berlin isn’t known for waterfront estates—but this bucolic grande dame changes that.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The rural Wisconsinite, who died in a psychiatric institution in 1984, became known for keeping as totems pieces of his victims’ bodies, in a string of crimes that shocked bucolic 1950s America.
    Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rural.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rural. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

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