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
Relevance
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
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 pastoral
Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Her drawings of pastoral childhood scenes caught the eye of Franz Goebel, who decided to bring these charming moments in time to life.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2025
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
For those who make the trek, the week will be filled with events ranging from the pastoral to the glamourous to the overtly highbrow.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Adjective
There is already much speculation about whom the cardinals will select and whether that new pope will continue Francis’ pastoral priorities of concern for the poor and reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Her drawings of pastoral childhood scenes caught the eye of Franz Goebel, who decided to bring these charming moments in time to life.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
Science emerges as a version of the pastoral, with the physicist as swain.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
For those who make the trek, the week will be filled with events ranging from the pastoral to the glamourous to the overtly highbrow.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pastoral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pastoral
Adjective
-
And, even in a Western, rural area, your property would need to be infested with wild rodents carrying the virus.—
Julia Ries,
Health,
26 Apr. 2025
-
The series is set in rural Texas and dives into the lives of small-town residents.—
Maggie Horton,
People.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
With an impressive academic background and decades of ministerial work, Dr. Joseph has guided and inspired countless individuals through his preaching and writings.—
Ascend Agency,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2025
-
The approval process for the project is ministerial, meaning the applicant does not need to seek public input and that review by city staff does not need to include public hearings.—
Robert Vardon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The idyll was hemmed in by immaculate office buildings housing high-profile Hollywood and tech tenants including Amazon, Oracle and AMC Networks.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Houses have always been haunted, but, whereas poltergeists of yore troubled the suburban idyll of white America, in these shows the scariest spectre is a disappearing profit margin.—
Jennifer Wilson,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The title is borrowed from Elizabeth Alexander’s fourth collection persona poems, historical narratives, jazz riffs, sonnets, elegies, and a sequence of ars poetica which examines the Black experience through the lens of the slave rebellion on the Amistad and nineteenth-century American art.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Eephus is an elegy, but with just the barest hint of sentimentality—a shrugging send-off that simultaneously cares deeply about America’s pastime.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The rabbi intones psalms and speaks about his mother, offering recollections of her and the principal details of her life: birth in the embers of the Shoah, Yiddishkeit, Soviet existence, antisemitism, immigration, courage, struggle, family, community, legacy.—
David Bezmozgis,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2025
-
Then, using his talents playing the lyre and singing psalms, David grew to be a supportive comfort to the possibly mad King Saul (Ali Suliman) as well as begin a romance with Saul’s daughter, Michal (Indy Lewis).—
Jim Halterman,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This is a lovely fundraiser to assist in the preservation of the cemetery, and the day is filled with master gardeners offering advice, madrigals singing, an archaeology talk, refreshments, kids’ activities and lots of lovely spring plants for sale.—
Janet Kusterer,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Mar. 2025
-
The service and concert will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at the church, 815 S. Washington St. Castle Singers are vocalists who perform a variety of chamber repertoire, varying from Renaissance madrigals and motets to contemporary pop and vocal jazz.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Appearing on stage before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Gosling shared a photo of his childhood bedsheets, plastered with illustrations from the space epic created by George Lucas.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Seen in this light, the story has all the makings of a Hollywood epic.—
Kenneth Seeskin,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Tour the historic penthouse that is an ode to Old Hollywood glamour.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
-
All of the 470 guestrooms and suites have been redesigned and are an ode to the spirit of Madrid.—
Angelina Villa-Clarke,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pastoral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pastoral. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share