rusticate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to go to the country.
-
to stay or sojourn in the country.
verb (used with object)
-
to send to or domicile in the country.
-
to make rustic, as persons or manners.
-
to finish (a wall surface) so as to produce or suggest rustication.
-
British. to suspend (a student) from a university as punishment.
verb
-
to banish or retire to the country
-
to make or become rustic in style, behaviour, etc
-
(tr) architect to finish (an exterior wall) with large blocks of masonry that are separated by deep joints and decorated with a bold, usually textured, design
-
(tr) to send down from university for a specified time as a punishment
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rusticate
1650–60; < Latin rūsticātus (past participle of rūsticārī to live in the country), equivalent to rūstic ( us ) rustic + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
If you want to move to the countryside — especially if you desire a simple, unsophisticated life there — you may explain to people that you wish to rusticate your busy life. The verb rusticate means "to send to the countryside." If you live in the city, you may want to rusticate your kids in the summers so they can experience a different lifestyle. In Britain, another meaning of the verb is to suspend from university, as in to be punished. If you get caught breaking too many rules with your practical jokes, the dean may rusticate you for a term or two.
Vocabulary lists containing rusticate
Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Society and Solitude
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In summer, the Niebuhrs rusticate at Heath, Mass., near the Vermont line.
From Time Magazine Archive
Secretary of Commerce Lament will rusticate on his son's ranch at Larkspur, Col.
From Time Magazine Archive
When Mitchell was court-martialed in 1925 for his obstreperous advocacy of air power, his friend & follower Hap Arnold was sent off to rusticate at Fort Riley.
From Time Magazine Archive
In other words, as far as the Soviet-dominated government in Prague is concerned, Dub?ek's main job in Ankara is to rusticate.
From Time Magazine Archive
They sent her down to rusticate somewhere at the end of the season.
From Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough' by George A. (George Alfred) Lawrence
The tables had mesquite stumps for legs, attached to slabs of wood covered with rusticated concrete.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2021
Two students were rusticated, or dismissed, by their colleges for climbing King's College Chapel in June 1937.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2019
Daughter The story of a girl struggling with learning difficulties hardly seems like the meat for great rock’n’roll, but Vedder makes it sing on this rusticated country-rock glide from Vs.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2016
The couple rusticated themselves to Bennington, Vt., where he was a teacher and she — as far as the neighbors knew — was a housewife, raising four talkative children.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2015
I guess this was the rusticated equivalent of coming out.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
On this Maine island, vacation is for rusticating.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2021
A quiet, brooding sense of menace settles in right at the beginning, which finds Mr. Clooney, his silver hair complemented by a snowy beard, rusticating in the snowy Swedish countryside.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2010
Old Jack Paar, supposedly rusticating there, is host-narrator.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1940, Prince Abdul Illah quashed one would-be Army coup by seizing the Iraqi telephone service and rusticating two uppity generals.
From Time Magazine Archive
The presidente told us, with delight, that the jefe politico of Ozuluama was there with his family, rusticating, and at once summoned him to meet us.
From In Indian Mexico (1908) by Frederick Starr
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
