Words / C2

p-uh-ROHK-ee-uh-l/pəˈrəʊkiəl/

Parochial means narrow in outlook, as if only the local parish mattered; also, of a church parish: parochial concerns, a parochial school. Narrow is everyday; insular (already in the dictionary) is the close C2 twin. Provincial is the regions cousin, sometimes unkind. Do not let a parochial clique write a timetable that forgets the night bus.

Meaning

Narrow in outlook; also of a church parish.

Examples

• “A parochial clique wrote the timetable and skipped the night bus.”
• “Narrow is everyday. Insular is inward-looking (already in C2). Provincial is of the regions. Parish is the literal church unit. Local knowledge can be exact. A rota that only serves the people in the room is parochial. Name the last bus; the parish is larger than the clique.”

Good to know

Narrow-minded; also of a parish. Everyday: narrow. Close: insular (already in C2). Local fact ≠ a clique that skips the bus.

Near in meaning

narrow

New