unpopular
Americanadjective
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not popular; disliked or ignored by the public or by persons generally.
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in disfavor with a particular person or group of persons.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unpopular
Explanation
When something is unpopular, it means most people don't like it, like a school lunch that nobody wants to eat or a TV show that nobody watches. Empty theaters and poor reviews indicate that a movie is unpopular. A politician with low approval ratings is unpopular and probably won't be reelected. Unpopular opinions are those that are not widely accepted or well-received. The word unpopular indicates a lack of favor or acceptance that can lead to rejection of products, ideas, and sometimes even people.
Vocabulary lists containing unpopular
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.
The merger has been unpopular in Hollywood and critics denounced the settlement as weak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
"It's time to take responsibility for making bold choices, even unpopular ones," he said earlier this year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to proceed with an unpopular economic overhaul despite his collapsing popularity and recent electoral routs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
And he knew they were bound to be unpopular.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
A theory favored by many Western archaeologists and Koreans, and unpopular in some circles in Japan, is that the Japanese are descendants of immigrants from Korea who arrived with rice paddy agriculture around 400 B.C.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
