Is there a difference between rural and rustic? They are similar but not quite the same because of the way we use them. They are both adjectives but rural is used in English mostly to describe a place or the landscape. Eg they lived in a rural area this means not in a city but in the county side. Rustic is usually used to describe objects that are made in a plain or simple fashion and not sophisticated eg. in her country house she had rustic furniture. I hope this helps.