rural

[ roor-uhl ]
See synonyms for rural on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic: agricultural fairs and festivals throughout the rural towns of Georgia.

  2. living in the country: the rural population.

  1. of or relating to agriculture: rural economy.

noun
  1. a person who lives in a rural area.

Origin of rural

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin rūrālis, equivalent to rūr- (stem of rūs ) “the country, rural land” (akin to room) + -ālis -al1

synonym study For rural

1. Rural and rustic are terms that refer to the country. Rural is the official term: rural education. It may be used subjectively, and usually in a favorable sense: the charm of rural life. Rustic, however, may have either favorable or unfavorable connotations. In a derogatory sense, it means provincial, boorish, or crude; in a favorable sense, it may suggest ruggedness or a homelike rural charm: rustic simplicity.

Other words for rural

Opposites for rural

Other words from rural

  • ru·ral·ism, noun
  • ru·ral·ist, ru·ral·ite, noun
  • ru·ral·ly, adverb
  • ru·ral·ness, noun
  • non·ru·ral, adjective
  • non·ru·ral·ly, adverb
  • qua·si-ru·ral, adjective
  • qua·si-ru·ral·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·ru·ral, adjective
  • sem·i·ru·ral·ly, adverb
  • sem·i·ru·ral·ism, noun
  • un·ru·ral, adjective
  • un·ru·ral·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with rural

Words Nearby rural

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rural in a sentence

  • There are many more good dwellings on this plain than in the rural portion of Lower Italy.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • The hospitals in the capital were crowded with wounded soldiers, brought in at great risk from the rural districts.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • Here again we have the landscape of Lorraine and the eternal and infinitely varied theme of rural labour.

    Bastien Lepage | Fr. Crastre
  • This rule however does not apply to travelers walking along a rural highway.

  • Then it is sung softly like the farmhand quartettes do in the rural melodrama outside the old homestead in harvest time.

    The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley Smith

British Dictionary definitions for rural

rural

/ (ˈrʊərəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the country or country life

  2. living in or accustomed to the country

  1. of, relating to, or associated with farming

Origin of rural

1
C15: via Old French from Latin rūrālis, from rūs the country

Derived forms of rural

  • ruralism, noun
  • ruralist, noun
  • rurality, noun
  • rurally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012