populous

[pop-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. full of residents or inhabitants, as a region; heavily populated.

2. jammed or crowded with people.

   There's no more populous place than Times Square on New Year's Eve.

   Synonyms: teeming, packed

3. forming or comprising a large number or quantity.

   Because of epidemics the tribes are not nearly so populous as they once were.

populous

/ ˈpɒpjʊləs /

adjective

1. containing many inhabitants; abundantly populated

Other Word Forms

• populously adverb
• populousness noun
• nonpopulous adjective
• nonpopulously adverb
• nonpopulousness noun
• overpopulous adjective
• overpopulously adverb
• overpopulousness noun
• unpopulous adjective
• unpopulously adverb
• unpopulousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of populous¹

1400–50; late Middle English populus < Latin populōsus. See people, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of populous¹

C15: from Late Latin populōsus

Example Sentences

Until a few years ago, Chongqing was largely a trivia answer: the world’s most populous city by some measures, with 32 million people in a South Carolina-size area.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The issue hit the headlines after the country's most populous state announced a specialised unit of investigators was probing influencer tax dodging on a massive scale.

Read more on Barron's

With nearly 12 million people, PNG is the largest and most populous South Pacific nation.

Read more on BBC

That county, the most populous in Kansas, has seen its Democratic ranks grow by roughly 53,000 people in the last nine years, even as the number of registered Republicans stagnated.

Read more on Salon

The earthquake shook the northern coast of Cebu, one of the country's most populous islands, on the night of 30 September, jolting many out of their sleep.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• crowded 
• numerous 
• populated www.thesaurus.com
• various