provincialism

[pruh-vin-shuh-liz-uhm]

noun

1. narrowness of mind, ignorance, or the like, considered as resulting from lack of exposure to cultural or intellectual activity.

2. a trait, habit of thought, etc., characteristic of a provincial, a province, or the provinces.

3. a word, expression, or mode of pronunciation peculiar to a province.

4. devotion to one's own province before the nation as a whole.

provincialism

/ prəˈvɪnʃəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. narrowness of mind or outlook; lack of sophistication

2. a word or attitude characteristic of a provincial

3. attention to the affairs of one's province rather than the whole nation

4. the state or quality of being provincial

Word History and Origins

Origin of provincialism¹

First recorded in 1760–70; provincial + -ism

Example Sentences

No developed country has anything close to America’s population of religious fundamentalists: believers in angels, demons, miracles and prophecies, all wrapped in a determined provincialism.

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Like the other club members, Benny tends to rack up miles without going anywhere very far, a provincialism that is one of the most American things about them.

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Bruce grew up with five siblings in a home tightly circumscribed by T.C.’s paltry salary and the dour provincialism of Simcoe, in the southwest corner of the province, not far from Lake Erie.

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“It was a term that he associated with narrow-mindedness, with a certain provincialism,” Dr. Brunsman said.

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The more outsiders mocked his Roman accent, dialect-abbreviated grammar and colorful vocabulary for its Roman provincialism, the more he became the city’s human coat of arms.

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Related Words

• accent 
• idiom 
• jargon 
• language 
• lingo 
• patois 
• pronunciation 
• slang 
• terminology 
• tongue 
• vernacular 
• vocabulary