Dictionary.com
definitions

rustic

[ruhs-tik]
See more synonyms for rustic on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or living in the country, as distinguished from towns or cities; rural.
  2. simple, artless, or unsophisticated.
  3. uncouth, rude, or boorish.
  4. made of roughly dressed limbs or roots of trees, as garden seats.
  5. (of stonework) having the surfaces rough or irregular and the joints sunken or beveled.
noun
  1. a country person.
  2. an unsophisticated country person.

Origin of rustic

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin rūsticus, equivalent to rūs the country (see rural) + -ticus adj. suffix
Related formsrus·ti·cal, adjectiverus·ti·cal·ly, rus·tic·ly, adverbrus·ti·cal·ness, rus·tic·ness, nounnon·rus·tic, adjectivenon·rus·ti·cal·ly, adverbun·rus·tic, adjectiveun·rus·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for rustic

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. See rural.

Antonyms for rustic

1. urban.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rustic

primitive, pastoral, picturesque, bucolic, homey, simple, austere, verdant, provincial, natural, homespun, arcadian, sylvan, plain, rough, stupid, mountaineer, boor, farmer, hillbilly

Examples from the Web for rustic

Contemporary Examples of rustic

Historical Examples of rustic

  • Why else should they wander together in the woods, or be so lost in talk by rustic streams?

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • And presently the rustic young gamester is tossing somersets for a penny.

  • "I could play lovers a deal better," said the rustic cherub.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • I found at the inn a young maid who spoke a sort of rustic Italian.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

  • And there were, about her, other suggestions of a rustic and homely nature.

    Falk

    Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for rustic

rustic

adjective
  1. of, characteristic of, or living in the country; rural
  2. having qualities ascribed to country life or people; simple; unsophisticatedrustic pleasures
  3. crude, awkward, or uncouth
  4. made of untrimmed branchesa rustic seat
  5. denoting or characteristic of a style of furniture popular in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, in which the legs and feet of chairs, tables, etc, were made to resemble roots, trunks, and branches of trees
  6. (of masonry) having a rusticated finish
noun
  1. a person who comes from or lives in the country
  2. an unsophisticated, simple, or clownish person from the country
  3. Also called: rusticwork brick or stone having a rough finish
Derived Formsrustically, adverbrusticity (rʌˈstɪsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for rustic

C16: from Old French rustique, from Latin rūsticus, from rūs the country
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
Word Origin and History for rustic
adj.

mid-15c., from Latin rusticus "of the country, rural; country-like, plain, simple, rough, coarse, awkward," from rus (genitive ruris) "open land, country" (see rural). Noun meaning "a country person, peasant" is from 1550s (also in classical Latin). Related: Rustical (early 15c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper