rustic

[ruhs-tik]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or living in the country, as distinguished from towns or cities; rural.

   Antonyms: urban

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.

rustic

/ ˈrʌstɪk, rʌˈstɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or living in the country; rural

2. having qualities ascribed to country life or people; simple; unsophisticated

   rustic pleasures

3. crude, awkward, or uncouth

4. made of untrimmed branches

   a 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

Other Word Forms

• rustical adjective
• rustically adverb
• rusticly adverb
• rusticalness noun
• rusticness noun
• nonrustic adjective
• nonrustically adverb
• unrustic adjective
• unrustically adverb
• rusticity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rustic¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin rūsticus, equivalent to rūs “the country” ( rural ) + -ticus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of rustic¹

C16: from Old French rustique , from Latin rūsticus , from rūs the country

Synonym Study

See rural.

Example Sentences

At times in “Hamnet,” 1582, the year of their marriage, could pass for a millennium earlier, a rustic era where neither has anything more pressing to do than canoodle under the trees.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the kudos was a double-edged sword for Gyngell, who left the cafe a year after the award, saying she was frustrated by customers who expected a traditional Michelin experience at her rustic cafe.

Read more on BBC

She also delighted in “any thing ridiculous,” such as the vogue for luxurious rustic cottages and fake Gothic ruins.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It had once been a whaling village, and the humble buildings retained a rustic charm, though when Watson arrived the rustic quality was on a steep descent toward ruination.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Just south of the highway closure, the rustic, isolated Lucia Lodge and the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery, remain open for overnight guests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bucolic 
• country 
• pastoral 
• picturesque 
• simple 
• verdant