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:
Secretary of Commerce Lament will rusticate on his son's ranch at Larkspur, Col.
From Time Magazine Archive
In summer, the Niebuhrs rusticate at Heath, Mass., near the Vermont line.
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
Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, who thought the Review's firm stand might encourage the Republican Party to rusticate Welch and all other extremists of his breed.
From Time Magazine Archive
He told me that he was on the look-out for a quiet, unfrequented place on the sea-shore, where he might rusticate and sketch.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 100, February, 1866 by Various
Two students were rusticated, or dismissed, by their colleges for climbing King's College Chapel in June 1937.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2019
As you climb the subway steps to Central Park West, looming overhead is the faceted red-granite American Museum of Natural History, whose rusticated walls and 150-foot-tall towers look like a Brobdingnagian brownstone.
From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2017
One of the largest developers in Monaco, Marzocco has turned its hand to everything from pink palazzos encrusted with wedding-cake mouldings to rusticated stone castles.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 30, 2014
Much later, after 2 a.m., the saxophonist Jeremy Udden filled the space with the echoing sound of his band, Plainville: a distinctly contemporary wash, warm and rusticated, with a strong pull of nostalgia.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2011
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
Dona meets him while she is rusticating, away from it all, on her husband's Cornish estate.
From Time Magazine Archive
Old Jack Paar, supposedly rusticating there, is host-narrator.
From Time Magazine Archive
He looked like a rusticating college professor—of Greek, say—and this theory seemed to be supported by his obvious ignorance as to how to keep a canoe on the popular side of the water.
From Captivating Mary Carstairs by Raymond Moreau Crosby
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.
