popularity
AmericanOther Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of popularity
First recorded in 1540–50, popularity is from the Latin word populāritās a courting of popular favor. See popular, -ity
Explanation
Popularity is the quality of being well-liked and having a lot of friends and admirers. Winning a student council election isn't just about popularity — you also have to have good ideas and be willing to work hard. Having popularity means that there are many people in your corner, supporting or liking you. The popularity of an internet celebrity might disappear suddenly, while the popularity of your favorite writers and artists seems to last for generations. This kind of popularity implies being adored by people who don't even know you in person (the word comes from a Latin root meaning "the people"), while your popularity among your friends is a more personal type.
Vocabulary lists containing popularity
We the People: Popul
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Academy Awards, List 5
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popul (people)
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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.
See Examples For:
As Adam Morgan, a Norman supporter and former state representative, told Slate, “Lindsey had a cap on his popularity, and I think that’s reflected in the polls.”
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
He’s hopeful that the establishment’s popularity will eventually wane with the ritzy crowd.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
It reached peak popularity in the early 2000s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
These rare real-life gatherings of young people in the social media era are also gaining popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Similarly mournful love songs were cropping up all over Europe during this period, their woeful lyrics gaining popularity in courts, noble houses, and other places where a sheet of printed music could be afforded.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
And while he’s happy for these books’ popularities, he says that some subjects may be better told by kids who also aren’t tasked with saving the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
We have seen extended popularities of “connect the dots,” “touching base,” “walking you through,” “deep dive,” “gain traction” and “circle back.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 31, 2017
That is, the difference between the popularities of a given song in different “worlds” increased as the strength of social influence increased.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 18, 2013
The vital facts of to-day's literature always lie buried beneath chatter of large editions and immense popularities.
From Books and Persons Being Comments on a Past Epoch 1908-1911 by Arnold Bennett
The scientific irrelevancies and solemn popularities, less elaborately embodied, I seem to have met with before—in papers signed by more than one serious and unqualified sage, whose mind also was not narrowed by knowledge.
From The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by James McNeill Whistler
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.
