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.
Even so, he remains deeply unpopular with the electorate as a whole.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
GM often relied on deep discounts and cheap loans to sell unpopular cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Data centers are also proving massively unpopular, even among conservative voters in rural areas.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
In 2025-26, the WSL replaced the Sunday 18:45 kick-off time with more noon matches, but this also proved unpopular.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Unferth was unpopular, and they liked the way this mild- tempered stranger had put him in his place.
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
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.
