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

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

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

At least 40 people including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

Read more on Barron's

That investigation led to the provincial animal welfare agency declaring that all the park's marine life was under distress because of poor water quality.

Read more on BBC

So far, provincial officials are “cautiously optimistic” about the direction of policy under Carney, said Brian Jean, Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lecornu's resignation on Monday halted the planned timetable for a referendum followed by provincial elections next year.

Read more on BBC

World Animal Protection called on the provincial government to seize the belugas, saying it "must show leadership and ensure these animals receive the best possible care".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• local 
• rural