popular

adjective

pop·​u·​lar ˈpä-pyə-lər How to pronounce popular (audio)
Synonyms of popularnext
1
: of or relating to the general public
2
: suitable to the majority: such as
a
: adapted to or indicative of the understanding and taste of the majority
a popular history of the war
b
: suited to the means of the majority : inexpensive
sold at popular prices
3
: frequently encountered or widely accepted
a popular theory
4
: commonly liked or approved
a very popular girl
popularly adverb

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for popular

common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual.

common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence

a common error
lacked common honesty

and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

common manners

ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day
a very ordinary sort of man

plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Examples of popular in a Sentence

They have names that were popular a century ago. He is a popular guy in school. Spicy foods have become increasingly popular. That is a very popular misconception. The word “groovy” was popular in the 1960s but it's outdated now. Her theories are popular among social scientists. a popular history of physics
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The second shooting took place not far from the popular Crack Shack restaurant. —Nbc San Diego, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024 The Dodgers are expected to pursue a reunion, although it has been widely reported that Hernandez could be a popular consolation pursuit for teams that miss out on Soto. —Jeff Sanders, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024 Web designers will also rejoice now that Photoshop supports SVG OpenType fonts for those wildly popular responsive designs, as well as emoji fonts. —PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024 For the first time in 20 years, a Republican candidate for president won the popular vote. —Ted Trimpa, The Denver Post, 12 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for popular 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin populāris "of the whole people, used by ordinary people, of the common people, professing to support the interests of the people, liked by the general public," from populus "a human community, people, nation, the people (transcending the individuals composing it), the general public" + -āris -ar — more at people entry 1

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of popular was in 1548

Phrases Containing popular

Dictionary Entries Near popular

populacy

popular

popular action

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Popular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/popular. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

popular

adjective
pop·​u·​lar ˈpäp-yə-lər How to pronounce popular (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or coming from the whole body of people
popular government
2
: suitable for the average person (as in low price or ease of understanding)
popular prices
popular science
3
: generally current : prevalent
popular opinion
4
: commonly liked or approved
a popular teacher
popularity
ˌpäp-yə-ˈlar-ət-ē
noun
popularly adverb
Etymology

from Latin popularis "of the people," from populus "the people" — related to public

Legal Definition

popular

adjective
pop·​u·​lar
1
: of or relating to the general public
2
a
: of, relating to, or by the people (as of a nation or state) as a whole as distinguished from a specific class or group
b
: based on or alleged to be based on the will of the people

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