1
as in rural
of, relating to, associated with, or typical of open areas with few buildings or people
painted a pastoral scene of a flower-filled meadow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ministerial
of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy
pastoral advice to a young couple preparing to marry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pastorale
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of pastoral
Brett Tingley, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Get Into the Holiday Spirit by Watching Mariah Carey Bake Christmas Cookies
Don’t let the pastoral scenes fool you—this is a thriller.
—Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2024
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2024
This blend of the pastoral and the religious made the Senegal River feel like an archaic vision of paradise, a strip of vivid life in an otherwise unforgiving environment.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pastoral 
Adjective
So what looks like a beautiful pastoral winter scene in these Mars Express images is actually a dynamic summer scene, where gas jets spew dust across the surface.
—Brett Tingley, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Get Into the Holiday Spirit by Watching Mariah Carey Bake Christmas Cookies
Don’t let the pastoral scenes fool you—this is a thriller.
—Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
As with Home, the story is about a return to the pastoral, at least ostensibly: Marina (Maggie Siff, always two ticks better than her material) is a broadcast journalist who’s trying to settle down after a career spent in war zones.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2024
This blend of the pastoral and the religious made the Senegal River feel like an archaic vision of paradise, a strip of vivid life in an otherwise unforgiving environment.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
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The loneliness epidemic affects many of us, but it is profoundly seen in rural areas, our senior communities, and among young people.Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
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For instance, individuals in rural areas or low-income households may have limited or no access to high-speed internet, leaving them unable to leverage tools like remote work platforms, online education or e-commerce marketplaces.Pandwe Gibson, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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On October 28, 2024, the Spanish Ministry of Finance published a ministerial order specifying the technical requirements for these billing systems.Aleksandra Bal, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
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Its brand is now recognizable across the country from bicycle stands in cities to ministerial meetings.Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Somehow the zombies have reached this isolated rural idyll and things go south fast.James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
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Television—as noise, as news, as something to do instead of killing yourself—stalks the text of this lyric, undermining the poetic form’s association with idyll.The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Tell, yell, hell, hello, elegy, tottle, otology, geology, theology.John McPhee, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
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Worm’s visualization of his collection, then, is an unwitting elegy of species pushed to the brink of existence by human pressures.The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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He is known as the patron saint of bookbinders and wrote an illustrative book of psalms while at the monastery of St. Finnian, according to Discovering Ireland.Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 15 Mar. 2024
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Inside the nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ thundered back to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies.Thomas Adamson and John Leicester, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
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At best, Gidden’s singing and arrangement of a Monteverdi madrigal achieve remarkable eloquence.Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2021
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After this is a setting of a Whitman poem for chorus a cappella in the style of a sixteenth-century madrigal, followed by a section in which a line from Dante’s Inferno is sung by a vocal trio in the style of a medieval motet.Walter Simmons, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2021
Noun
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Last year, the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards winners Christopher Nolan’s biographical epic Oppenheimer with seven wins in total.Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025
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In the Greek epics, Odysseus and Ajax – are middle-aged, and neither loses sleep wondering about his life choices or whether his skills are falling off.Matthew Redmond, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Lai Rai, a sleek new bar on Forsyth, is an ode to two of life’s greatest pleasures—natural wine and frozen confections.The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2025
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While jewelry today isn’t hardly as intricate, this exhibition is an ode to craftsmanship and creativity.Nadja Sayej, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to pastoral
Thesaurus Entries Near pastoral
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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