populous
Americanadjective
-
full of residents or inhabitants, as a region; heavily populated.
-
jammed or crowded with people.
There's no more populous place than Times Square on New Year's Eve.
-
forming or comprising a large number or quantity.
Because of epidemics the tribes are not nearly so populous as they once were.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of populous
1400–50; late Middle English populus < Latin populōsus. See people, -ous
Explanation
A populous place is full of people. If you left your cabin in the Maine woods to spend the weekend in New York City, you'd be particularly aware of how populous the city is. Anything that's dense with people can be described as populous, like the country of China or the city of Mumbai or even a crowded airport. Populous is a Latin word that means simply "people." It was adopted by English in the 15th century to mean "full of people." The adjective populous is easy to confuse with the noun populace, "the people who live in a country," especially since they are homonyms, or words that sound exactly the same.
Vocabulary lists containing populous
Much Ado: Synonyms for "Many"
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We the People: Popul
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"Othello" by William Shakespeare, Act IV-V
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While economists have broadly backed the measures, they have driven up living costs and deepened hardship in Africa's most populous country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The world’s two most populous nations saw themselves as ancient civilizations humiliated by industrialized Western powers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
To see if more women with ectopic pregnancies are experiencing severe health outcomes, ProPublica analyzed hospital data from Texas, the most populous state to ban abortion.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Though the U.S. population is projected to grow modestly through 2100, the country is projected to fall from third to sixth place in a ranking of the world’s most populous countries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Not when invaders were threatening the Empire and the populous had to be placated.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
