Arcadian
Americanadjective
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of Arcadia.
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(often lowercase) rural, rustic, or pastoral, especially suggesting simple, innocent contentment.
They shared the desire to live off the land and lead a life of Arcadian bliss.
noun
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a native of Arcadia.
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the dialect of ancient Greek spoken in Arcadia.
adjective
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of or relating to Arcadia or its inhabitants, esp the idealized Arcadia of pastoral poetry
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rustic or bucolic
a life of Arcadian simplicity
noun
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an inhabitant of Arcadia
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a person who leads or prefers a quiet simple rural life
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Arcadian
Vocabulary lists containing arcadian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Plans for techno-Xanadus contrast with Arcadian proposals that hope to return humans closer to nature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Nor did Vaughan Williams, a student socialist who remained left-leaning, always flee the present into an Arcadian past, despite the wistfulness of works like his Oboe Concerto.
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
But repopulating Italy’s small towns can’t simply be an exercise in nostalgia, an attempt to re-create some Arcadian idyll cut off from modern amenities and infrastructure, renowned architect Stefano Boeri said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2021
All this Arcadian plenty has tempted in the carnivores, who crept in quietly at first, testing the waters.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 24, 2020
From the forests and fisheries and farmlands of an Arcadian state dawned a powerful military capital, a nerve center that had welcomed residents by the hundreds of thousands since the start of the conflict.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.