populace
Americannoun
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the common people of a community, nation, etc., as distinguished from the higher classes.
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all the inhabitants of a place; population.
noun
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the inhabitants of an area
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the common people; masses
Etymology
Origin of populace
1565–75; < French < Italian popolaccio, equivalent to popol ( o ) people + -accio pejorative suffix
Explanation
The populace is a way to refer to a group of people in general, like the masses or a population. Populace, in its original use, was a negative way of referring to ordinary people, as opposed to rich, privileged, or royal people. A king might try to understand the mindset of the populace, but it's likely that he had no idea what their lives were really like. Populace can also be a neutral term that refers to a group of people living in a particular place. For example, New York City has a populace of about eight million people.
Vocabulary lists containing populace
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Surviving Hitler
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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.
The populace reacted so strongly to those images.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2026
Plato saw it as an inevitable consequence of democracy, when a quest for freedom leads to excess and the populace demands a strongman.
From Salon • Jan. 15, 2026
If Kazin had any say, food security for the populace would be the priority.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026
It emerges, historically, when a sufficient mass of the populace has become terrified into unreason and ceded control into the hands of the evil but assured.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
The entire populace knows thousands of songs, and there is hardly a mediocre voice among them.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
