Meaning & use
not urban
Last updated
UK/ˌnɒt ˈɜːbən/
US/ˌnɑːt ˈɜːrbən/
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Not belonging to or characteristic of a town or city; outside urban areas.
Grammar: Used after linking verbs or before a noun: The area is not urban. It can also go before a noun: a not urban lifestyle, but 'rural' is more natural there.
Patterns
- be not urban
- not urban areas
- not urban life
The village is not urban, so there are few buses.
Many not urban areas still lack fast internet.
Their study compared urban and not urban schools.
Common combinations
- not urban areas
- Funding is lower in not urban areas.
- not urban life
- He prefers not urban life to the noise of the city.
- be not urban
- The district is not urban, though it is growing.
- not urban population
- The not urban population has fallen for years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rural
- The normal word for 'not urban'; it is more specific and more common in official writing.
- non-urban
- A formal written form used in reports; 'not urban' is plainer and more conversational.
Opposites
Word family
- urban adjective
- Relating to a town or city.
- urbanize verb
- To make an area more like a city.
- urbanization noun
- The process of becoming more urban.
Practice
Which sentence is most natural?
Choose one answer.
'Not urban' works after 'is'. 'Urbanly' is not a word; 'unurban' is not standard; 'urbanize' is a verb, not an adjective.
Make it your own
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