populace

[pop-yuh-luh s]

See more synonyms for populace on Thesaurus.com

noun

the common people of a community, nation, etc., as distinguished from the higher classes.
all the inhabitants of a place; population.

Origin of populace

1565–75; < French < Italian popolaccio, equivalent to popol(o) people + -accio pejorative suffix

Can be confusedpopulace population populous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for populace

commonality, proletariat, masses, society, rabble, mob, commonalty, public, multitude, plebs, demos

Examples from the Web for populace

Contemporary Examples of populace

He proposed among other things that police departments must better reflect the ethnic makeup of the populace.
Darren Wilson Wasn’t Indicted—the System Was
Michael Daly
November 25, 2014
He studied our use of language and the way that words are manipulated to manipulate the populace.
Why George Carlin Deserves His Own Street
Kevin Bartini
October 21, 2014
In order for the populace to lead balanced and productive lives, manipulative forces must provide scripted risk.
They Saw Our Sports Problem Coming
T.D. Thornton
September 14, 2014
The Muslim populace who love and support you will never find palatable...the scenes of slaughtering the hostages.
From ISIS Videos to JLaw Nudes, When Is Looking Abetting Evil?
Michael Daly
September 3, 2014
Nor do members of Congress with close NRA ties who scare the populace and encourage sedition face any consequences.
Preparing for War in Indianapolis: Inside the NRA Plot to Terrify America
Cliff Schecter
April 28, 2014

Historical Examples of populace

Miss Hilton and Miss Parker and some of our girls composed the populace.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
In this instance, the populace are more puritanic than the magistrate.
Old News
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Faithful ministers are rarely eulogised by the populace or the court.
Calderon The Courtier
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The populace were all civility to him so were the ministers.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 364, February 1846
Various
There the authorities and the populace received us very well.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for populace

populace

noun (sometimes functioning as plural)

the inhabitants of an area
the common people; masses

Word Origin for populace

C16: via French from Italian popolaccio the common herd, from popolo people, from Latin populus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for populace

1570s, from Middle French populace (16c.), from Italian popolaccio "riffraff, rabble," from popolo "people" (from Latin populus "people;" see people (n.)) + pejorative suffix -accio.