populace

noun

pop·​u·​lace ˈpä-pyə-ləs 

1

: the common people : masses

2

: population

Did you know?

Populace is usually used to refer to all the people of a country. Thus, we're often told that an educated and informed populace is essential for a healthy American democracy. Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous radio "Fireside Chats" informed and reassured the American populace in the 1930s as we struggled through the Great Depression. We often hear about what "the general populace" is thinking or doing, but generalizing about something so huge can be tricky.

Synonyms

• commoners
• commons
• crowd
• herd
• hoi polloi
• mass
• millions
• mob
• multitude
• people
• plebeians
• plebs
• public
• rank and file

Examples of populace in a Sentence

The populace has suffered greatly.

high officials awkwardly mingling with the general populace

Recent Examples on the Web

At almost every moment since May, the election has found a way to demand the near-constant attention of a populace wary of former President Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris, who are historically unpopular. —Noah Bressner, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024

Some notable proportion of the populace will undoubtedly seek mental solace, of which, modern-day generative AI presumably stands ready to help. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Wisconsin’s razor-thin margins in the last two presidential elections reveal a deeply divided populace that reflect a polarized nation. —Nancy C. Unger / Made By History, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024

The rich continue to indulge — so, too, does Cesar, taking drugs and showing up at their events, albeit bitterly — while Coppola depicts the general populace falling into bouts of civil unrest, protests, and monochrome filth, hovering around trash fires for warmth and comfort. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, "mob, rabble," borrowed from Italian popolazzo, popolaccio "the common people, the masses, rabble, mob," from popolo people entry 1 + -azzo, -accio, augmentative and pejorative suffix, going back to Latin -āceus -aceous

Note: The extension of -āceus to nouns, through deletion of the modified head noun, takes place already in Latin (see note at -aceous), and continued into Italian—compare focaccia "flatbread," already attested in Late Latin, from Latin focus "hearth." At some point the notion of appurtenance or similarity appears to have led to that of devaluation, whence the application of the Italian suffix to things of inappropriately large size or inferior quality. The derivatives popolazzo and popolaccio show both the Tuscan outcome -accio and a variant -azzo that represents the outcome of -āceus in Upper Italian or southern Italian dialects.

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

populace

noun

pop·​u·​lace ˈpäp-yə-ləs 

1

: the common people : masses

2

: population sense 1