How to Use provincial in a Sentence

provincial

1 of 2 noun
  • Many of the new ministers are provincials with little experience of Delhi.
    — The Economist, 14 June 2019
  • In Heaney, the inarticulate, the mumblers, the provincial found a powerful well source of description to draw from.
    — Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022
  • In this novel, a motley band of provincials, army deserters, and disenchanted élites descend on Nigeria’s largest city, and story lines and twists abound.
    — George Prochnik, The New Yorker, 24 June 2018
  • Canada’s capital is under two states of emergency, one local and another provincial.
    — Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2022
  • For provincials like my mother and me, Moscow meant a small break from the daily vicissitudes of late-period Soviet life.
    — Anastasia Edel, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2020
  • The fans won on Tuesday, an indication of how their sense of ownership over clubs and their traditions can be mobilized in ways that might seem quaint and provincial in the American context.
    — Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2021
  • Marlowe, the son of a poor Canterbury cobbler, and Shakespeare, the son of a Stratford glover and alderman, were both unlikely artistic geniuses, provincials in a nation in which social class was rigidly fixed.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2025

provincial

2 of 2 adjective
  • She is too provincial to try foreign foods.
  • She speaks with a provincial accent.
  • His provincial attitude was a source of irritation for her.
  • France often had small provincial clubs in its top flight.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Even the hardwood used in cooking comes from provincial farms.
    — Kathy A. McDonald, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
  • What makes its location so unique is its prime spot right inside the provincial park.
    — Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2023
  • Bragging rights are always great to hold over your provincial rival.
    — Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2026
  • His love for off colors, iffy prints, and ersatz details recalls the provincial market stall.
    — Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Steinberg’s point was not that his fellow New Yorkers were provincial but that all maps record a state of mind.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2026
  • For a global city, New York can be awfully provincial.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Most of Trần’s movie is—or appears to be—about food and drink, and it is set in, around, and near a manor house in provincial France.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
  • There’s been something sinister afoot in provincial France in recent years.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 June 2026
  • Her backwards home life seems more provincial and punishing than ever, the clanking metal door in front of their house more and more like a cage.
    — Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
  • There was provincial pride in the Texas victory in Kansas City.
    — The New York Times, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2023
  • The provincial government said in a statement that the 02 had conducted the raid.
    — ProPublica, 15 Dec. 2022
  • This was no doubt a great accomplishment for a young man of twenty-three living in provincial Alexandria.
    — Gregory Jusdanis, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
  • The provincial governor approved the move.
    — Chad De Guzman, Time, 25 May 2026
  • In the years leading up to the provincial ban, dozens were killed during Basant — some cut by kite strings coated with chemicals and glass paste.
    — Betsy Joles, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Many were still too traumatized to return home due to aftershocks, provincial officials said.
    — ABC News, 11 June 2026
  • The quake, which was centered north of the Turkish provincial capital of Gaziantep, was felt as far away as Cairo.
    — Dallas News, 6 Feb. 2023
  • The center was opened in Fuzhou, the provincial capital, in 2023.
    — Didi Kirsten Tatlow, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Havana’s streets and all provincial cities are full of trash and waste dumps are overflowing due to the fuel crisis to the point that residents have begun to burn them.
    — Sarah Moreno updated February 19, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2026
  • The unrest soon spread to universities and provincial cities, with young men clashing with security forces.
    — Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The unrest soon spread to universities and provincial cities, with young men clashing with security forces.
    — Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
  • The unrest soon spread to universities and provincial cities, with young men clashing with security forces.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Back home in provincial East Germany, things are complicated.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
  • All options are on the table, including declaring a provincial state of emergency, Smith added.
    — Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 6 May 2023
  • The result marked a new identity for many provincial migrants who came to populate the country's urban centers.
    — NPR, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Late last year, the provincial government passed new legislation on kite flying and sales ahead of Basant's revival.
    — Betsy Joles, NPR, 14 Feb. 2026
  • The park is just across the Alberta provincial line in British Columbia and only about an hour from Banff.
    — Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'provincial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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