pastoral.

1. Relating to country life, especially shepherds, grazing livestock, or their rural surroundings.

2. Relating to the care, guidance, or support of a community or individuals, especially by clergy or educational staff.

3. A poem or other literary work presenting rural life, often in an idealized way.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• pastoral landscape
• pastoral life
• pastoral economy

On the page

A pastoral landscape stretched beyond the town.

The account described a pastoral economy based on herds.

The painting idealized pastoral life.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Forms: Normally non-gradable for relation; more/most for stylistic degree. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.