parochial
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or financially supported by one or more church parishes.
parochial churches in Great Britain.
-
of or relating to parochial schools or the education they provide.
-
very limited or narrow in scope or outlook; provincial.
parochial views; a parochial mentality.
adjective
-
narrow in outlook or scope; provincial
-
of or relating to a parish or parishes
Other Word Forms
- interparochial adjective
- interparochially adverb
- interparochialness noun
- nonparochial adjective
- nonparochially adverb
- parochialism noun
- parochiality noun
- parochially adverb
- parochialness noun
- semiparochial adjective
- unparochial adjective
- unparochially adverb
Etymology
Origin of parochial
1350–1400; late Middle English parochialle < Late Latin parochiālis ( parish, -al 1 ); replacing Middle English parochiele < Anglo-French parochiel < Late Latin as above
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.
His main example to demonstrate this on the right, as far as I can tell, is voucher systems, charter networks and parochial institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
The outbreak, predictably, was especially bad in private and parochial schools with high numbers of unvaccinated students.
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025
He called the party "parochial, not political" and described them as a "party without a vision".
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
“Demascus” isn’t parochial or polemical; the emotional beats are accessible to any moderately sensitive human.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025
He had moved from a more nationalistic, all-encompassing theme of African unity to a more parochial one addressed to the Xhosa people, of whom he was one.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
