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.
Schwarzenegger in an unprecedented, rapid-fire recall of an enormously unpopular governor.
From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026
What’s striking is that these projects seem to be unpopular, depending on whatever poll you read.
From Slate • May 7, 2026
But they are deeply unpopular across the country.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Lawmakers know income taxes are unpopular, so they also tried to head off taxpayer options when they wrote the legislation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
Few laws or acts of Congress have ever been so unpopular with so many people as the Eighteenth Amendment.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
