agrestic

American  

[uh-gres-tik] / əˈgrɛs tɪk /

adjective

1. rural; rustic.

2. unpolished; awkward.

   agrestic behavior.

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agrestic British  

/ əˈɡrɛstɪk /

adjective

1. rural; rustic

2. unpolished; uncouth

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Etymology

Origin of agrestic

1610–20; < Latin agrest ( is ) ( agrestal ) + -ic

Explanation

Agrestic has to do with the countryside. It’s the opposite of “urban.” The agrestic way of life might appeal to you, if you prefer fresh air and the great outdoors to the bustle of urban life. Agrestic can also refer to the less appealing side of country — the rough and rustic behavior you might attribute to a “country bumpkin,” somebody who isn’t city-savvy. You’ve probably noticed that agrestic sounds a bit like agriculture — both words share the Latin root ager “field.”

Example Sentences

Matisse's prewar paintings, with their naked figures in glades of pure color, their utterly deceptive, agrestic simplicity, are the link between Poussin's world and the modern one.

From Time Magazine Archive

Apodeictic, muliebrity, mansuetude, even caducity, caliginosity, nitid, agrestic, roborant or vilipend have Latin or Greek roots that are very familiar to me and most high school graduates.

From Time Magazine Archive

The funniest and most agrestic of all his paintings were, undoubtedly, the cows -- a snook cocked at Picasso's heroic Spanish bulls.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Nobody in their right mind, unless they are taking the piss, is going to say, 'I went on an agrestic retreat,' " he says, "because you've got the word rural to do it for you."

From Time Magazine Archive

Cowley retreated into solitude, where he found none of the agrestic charms of the landscapes of his muse.

From Calamities and Quarrels of Authors by Disraeli, Isaac

Related Words

• agrarian
• bucolic
• homey
• provincial
• rustic