pastoral

CEFRC1

/ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Related to the countryside, farming, or caring for a church community.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry.

Examples

  • 'Some schools are better at providing pastoral support to children', he said.

  • No trace of Napoleon's waltz across Europe appears in the pastoral novels of Jane Austen.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Relating to the care of souls, to the pastor of a church or to any local religious leader charged with the service of individual parishioners, i.e. a priest or rabbi.

  2. Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyll; a bucolic.

More examples

In context

  • We were living a pastoral life.

  • a pastoral letter

  • pastoral duties

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The poet wrote about the peaceful blank landscape of rolling hills and sheep.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.