as in peasant
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
a rustic who was awed by the prices that city dwellers had to pay
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also rustical
1
as in uncomfortable
lacking social grace and assurance
rustic yokels whose first impulse was to smirk gawkily at anyone not of their own kind
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rural
of, relating to, associated with, or typical of open areas with few buildings or people
a rustic area that has a refreshing lack of billboards and shopping malls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rustic
Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
Don’t sleep on its heirloom section, either—a collection of rustic, foraged objects that would look just right on a shelf by the door in your unapologetically urban apartment.
—Air Mail, 10 Jan. 2026
Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2026
They at first preferred buncheong, a rustic style of stoneware decorated with white slip, gorgeously epitomized by a late 15th-century bowl marked by wide sweeps of pale brushwork on its interior and exterior, nothing more.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rustic
Noun
Neither modish nor cookie-cutter rustic in aesthetic, the hotel, tucked away off the main street in the village of Malfa, feels like a genuine home, where old framed maps, ceramics, pots, and paintings, along with other antiques, have been collected over the years.
—Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
Don’t sleep on its heirloom section, either—a collection of rustic, foraged objects that would look just right on a shelf by the door in your unapologetically urban apartment.
—Air Mail, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Once used for monitoring lightning strikes and tracking wildfires, these rustic structures now make for great day-hike destinations and side trips on the Wonderland.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2026
They at first preferred buncheong, a rustic style of stoneware decorated with white slip, gorgeously epitomized by a late 15th-century bowl marked by wide sweeps of pale brushwork on its interior and exterior, nothing more.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rustic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rustic
Noun
-
In the dying days of the Russian Empire, highborn ladies would willingly cut the dirty fingernails of the peasant Grigori Rasputin and then sew the clippings onto their dresses like sacred talismans.—
Gerard DeGroot,
Air Mail,
25 Apr. 2026
-
And that was to inspire, raise, and command armies of European Christians, including kings, commoners and peasants, to invade the Holy Land and free it from Muslim occupation.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
After consulting with the Ravens’ team physician — and those of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants — DeCosta became uncomfortable with the prognosis.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
No longer in the context of the coffee shop, the manager looked uncomfortable and out of place, his power diminished, an average guy in a bad suit, who had had to take time off from his job to come downtown to a federal office in an Art Deco building.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Stedman offers a heartfelt homage to the virtues of rural community and the natural beauty unique to Western Australia, as well as a critique of the strictures and dangers inherent in small-minded communities.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
These dissident fighters – which include splinter groups who fight among themselves – have continued a low-level insurgency in some rural parts of Colombia.—
Annabella González,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Marlowe, the son of a poor Canterbury cobbler, and Shakespeare, the son of a Stratford glover and alderman, were both unlikely artistic geniuses, provincials in a nation in which social class was rigidly fixed.—
Heller McAlpin,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Sanders is a Catholic priest and former Augustinian provincial in California and lives in the Augustinian community in North Park.—
Gary Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
Even after filling several roster holes in the NFL Draft, the Dolphins exited the weekend with a glaring need at safety and an uneasy situation on the edge, at wide receiver and at tight end.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
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Forced into an uneasy alliance with a sharp-witted poacher living on the margins of society (Kellyman), the two women fight back, turning their powerlessness into strength through violence, wit, and defiance.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
27 Apr. 2026
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
Adjective
-
Our hands soon became insensitive, clumsy hooks.—
Jim Hoagland,
Outdoor Life,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The production is a revival of the disappointingly fussy, clumsy, old-fashioned one by Lee Blakeley the company unveiled in 2013 for Conlon and to celebrate the Verdi bicentennial.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Simply put, the small-town bumpkins from North Florida who support this idea should be made to pay for it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rustic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rustic. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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