provincial

[pruh-vin-shuhl]

adjective

1. belonging or peculiar to some particular province; local.

   the provincial newspaper.

2. of or relating to the provinces.

   provincial customs; provincial dress.

3. having or showing the manners, viewpoints, etc., considered characteristic of unsophisticated inhabitants of a province; rustic; narrow or illiberal; parochial.

   a provincial point of view.

   Synonyms: small-town, rural

4. (often initial capital letter),  noting or pertaining to the styles of architecture, furniture, etc., found in the provinces, especially when imitating styles currently or formerly in fashion in or around the capital.

   Italian Provincial.

5. History/Historical.,  of or relating to any of the American provinces of Great Britain.

noun

1. a person who lives in or comes from the provinces.

2. a person who lacks urban sophistication or broad-mindedness.

3. Ecclesiastical.

   1. the head of an ecclesiastical province.

   2. a member of a religious order presiding over the order in a given district or province.

provincial

/ prəˈvɪnʃəl, prəˌvɪnʃɪˈælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of or connected with a province

2. characteristic of or connected with the provinces; local

3. having attitudes and opinions supposedly common to people living in the provinces; rustic or unsophisticated; limited

4. denoting a football team representing a province, one of the historical administrative areas of New Zealand

noun

1. a person lacking the sophistications of city life; rustic or narrow-minded individual

2. a person coming from or resident in a province or the provinces

3. the head of an ecclesiastical province

4. the head of a major territorial subdivision of a religious order

Other Word Forms

• provincially adverb
• interprovincial adjective
• nonprovincial adjective
• nonprovincially adverb
• quasi-provincial adjective
• quasi-provincially adverb
• semiprovincial adjective
• semiprovincially adverb
• subprovincial adjective
• unprovincial adjective
• unprovincially adverb
• provinciality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of provincial¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (noun and adjective), from Latin prōvinciālis, from prōvinci(a) province + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The closure of clinics in villages has resulted in a surge of patients at the maternity ward of the main regional hospital in the provincial capital Faizabad.

From BBC

Eight people were transported by either air or ambulance to local hospitals, Shared Health, the provincial health authority, said in a statement to the BBC.

From BBC

This is not the first time Ms Atwood has been critical of the provincial book ban.

From BBC

Without enough money, whether from the international community, the federal government or provincial budget, it is hard to execute the solutions they've all preached.

From BBC

Buenos Aires provincial security minister Javier Alonso said the decision took too long and that it was "clear that there was a very hostile attitude".

From BBC

Related Words

• local 
• rural