rural

From Old French rural, from Latin rūrālis (“rural”), from rūs (“countryside”) + -ālis.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹʊ.ɹəl/, /ˈɹɝl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹʊə.ɹəl/, /ˈɹɔː.ɹəl/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈɹʉːɹəl/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈɹuːɹəl/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ˈɾuːɾal/, (nonstandard) /ˈɾuːa̯l/
• Hyphenation: ru‧ral
• Rhymes: -ʊəɹəl

rural (comparative more rural, superlative most rural)

1. Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.

   Synonyms: campestral, landly (nonstandard)

   Antonyms: urban, suburban

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎^[1]:

     Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins … .

   • 2024 November 21, Helen Regan, Isaac Yee and Eve Brennan, “Australian teens among six tourists dead as countries warn of suspected methanol poisonings in Laos”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     The Australian teens, both from Melbourne, were enjoying a backpacking trip when they became ill after a night out in Vang Vieng.
     The picturesque rural town in northern Laos has long been a popular backpacking spot.

rural (plural rurals)

1. (obsolete) A person from the countryside; a rustic.

• urlar

Borrowed from Latin rūrālis.

• IPA^(key): /ruˈɾal/ [ruˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ru‧ral

rural (epicene, plural rurales)

1. rural

   Antonym: urbanu

Borrowed from Latin rūrālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ruˈɾal]
• Hyphenation: ru‧ral

rural m or f (masculine and feminine plural rurals)

1. rural

   Antonym: urbà

• “rural”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “rural”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “rural” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “rural” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Inherited from Old French rural, a borrowing from Latin rūrālis (“rural”), from rūs (“countryside”) + -ālis.

• IPA^(key): /ʁy.ʁal/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ru‧ral

rural (feminine rurale, masculine plural ruraux, feminine plural rurales)

1. rural

   Synonym: champêtre

   Antonym: urbain

• ruralité

• “rural”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin rūrālis.

• IPA^(key): /ruˈɾal/ [ruˈɾɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ru‧ral

rural m or f (plural rurais)

1. rural

   Antonym: urbano

• “rural”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

• IPA^(key): /ʁuˈʁaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

• Audio:

  (file)

rural (strong nominative masculine singular ruraler, comparative ruraler, superlative am ruralsten)

1. (dated, learned) rural

   Synonym: ländlich

From Latin ruralis.

rural (neuter singular ruralt, definite singular and plural rurale)

1. rural

• landlig

• “rural” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin ruralis.

rural (neuter singular ruralt, definite singular and plural rurale)

1. rural

• landleg

• “rural” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Latin rūrālis (“rural”), from rūs (“countryside”) + -ālis.

rural m (oblique and nominative feminine singular rurale)

1. rural

• → English: rural
• French: rural

• IPA^(key): /ryˈral/
• Rhymes: -al

rural

1. rural

From Latin rūrālis (“rural”), from rūs (“countryside”) + -ālis.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: ru‧ral

rural m or f (plural rurais)

1. rural

• ruralmente

Borrowed from French rural.

rural m or n (feminine singular rurală, masculine plural rurali, feminine and neuter plural rurale)

1. rural

From Latin rūrālis (“rural”), from rūs (“countryside”) + -ālis.

• IPA^(key): /ruˈɾal/ [ruˈɾal]

• Audio (El Salvador):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ru‧ral

rural m or f (masculine and feminine plural rurales)

1. rural

   Antonym: urbano

rural m or f (plural rurales)

1. (chiefly Argentina) station wagon (US, Australia); estate car (UK)

   Synonyms: familiar, (Colombia, Venezuela) camioneta, (Mexico) guayín, (Spain) ranchera, (Spain) rubia, (Chile, Peru, Puerto Rico) station wagon, (Bolivia, Mexico) vagoneta

• “rural”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024