agrarian
Americanadjective
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relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property.
agrarian laws.
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pertaining to the advancement of agricultural groups.
an agrarian movement.
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composed of or pertaining to farmers.
an agrarian co-op.
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rural; agricultural.
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growing in fields; wild.
an agrarian plant.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to land or its cultivation or to systems of dividing landed property
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of or relating to rural or agricultural matters
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of agrarian
1610–20; < Latin agrāri ( us ) ( agr- stem of ager field, acre + -ārius -ary ) + -an; cf. agrestal
Explanation
Use the word agrarian to describe something related to fields, farming, or rural matters. The school calendar is still based on the old agrarian calendar, when children needed to be off during the summer to help with planting and harvesting. The adjective agrarian comes from the Latin root word ager, meaning a field, but the word's meaning has expanded to include anything rural or farm-related. "The senator, who represented mostly agrarian communities, spent most of her time working on issues of interest to farmers. She lobbied to stabilize the price of corn and milk, fought for subsidies for working farms, and presented ribbons to the prized pig at the county fair."
Vocabulary lists containing agrarian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Down on the Farm
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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.
In a long career before his death in August, at the age of 92, the agrarian writer Wendell Berry argued that modern agriculture was decimating family farms, hollowing out rural communities and poisoning the planet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
People across the world adapt to a more agrarian lifestyle, learning to fill the land with root vegetables, grains and legumes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Foodies and farmers railed against the settlement, saying the park’s new plan would destroy the food scene in west Marin County and kneecap the already struggling agrarian community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
However, northern Honduras has been the site of ongoing agrarian conflict for years.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Since January he’d been working at home, trying to complete the final chapters of his dissertation on agrarian revolts in India.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
