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
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 rustic
Rick Jordan, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
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
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Dinner at the new rustic-style Clover Gordes is a joyous affair, helmed by chef Jean-François Piège, with signature dishes including pizza soufflés and a carbonara of wild squid.
—Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rustic
Noun
It is centred around a striking building topped with turf, a nod to Iceland’s traditional architecture, with aqueduct-like arches and an angular timber roof inside—a little Hobbit-like, a little sci-fi rustic.
—Rick Jordan, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
The restaurant is known for its fresh pastas with light sauces in a rustic but trendy dining room.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Dinner at the new rustic-style Clover Gordes is a joyous affair, helmed by chef Jean-François Piège, with signature dishes including pizza soufflés and a carbonara of wild squid.
—Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rustic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rustic
Noun
-
That moniker comes from a violent 1967 peasant uprising against oppressive landlords in Naxalbari, a village in the shadow of the Himalayan foothills in northeast India.—
Dhruv Tikekar,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
-
Yet for critics of this militarized approach, the army has done less to tame rebellions than to terrorize the island’s peasant communities.—
Patrick Peralta,
The Conversation,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Vinod brought the long view and the uncomfortable predictions.—
Brian Solis,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Say goodbye to uncomfortable underwear that digs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
He was wanted in connection with three killings in the Puna District, a large rural area on the island’s east coast.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
-
The story, set in rural California in the 1990s, opens as seventeen-year-old Cal finds the body of his high school classmate, Nora, lying across the train tracks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 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
-
Until these vexing unknowns are figured out, AI for mental health will be in an uneasy position and subject to strident criticisms and concerns.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Other Western media outlets, meanwhile, are growing more uneasy about what possible interviews with Lai could mean for their presence in China, The Associated Press reported.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
31 May 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
-
After the zapfest on Earth, the anti-climactic tussle between the forces of good and evil occurs back on Eternia, where He-Man and his nemesis cross swords in a clumsy fight that’s not only predictable but also photographed and edited poorly.—
Jeffrey Ressner,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
-
The simple walking pattern adopted by fish, which the Cambridge researchers call an ‘undulating tripod gait’, can appear to be quite clumsy and involves too much flopping.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 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 7 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
