Meanings
plural populaces
- countableuncountableThe common people of a nation.
The populace despised their ignorant leader.
1 more example
Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal CombustionSynonyms: common people, hoi polloi, masses, people, rabble, riff-raff, demos, inhabitants
- countableuncountableThe inhabitants of a country or one of its administrative divisions (such as a state, province, or county).
Thomas Brassey (1805-70) should be equally famous, yet he is unknown to swathes of the greater populace. His plaque is at Chester.
2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chester (1848)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 57
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe common people of a nation.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpopulus
- Italianpopolaccio
- Middle Frenchpopulace
- Englishpopulace
Borrowed from Middle French populace, from Italian popolaccio, from popolo + -accio (“pejorative suffix”), from Latin populus.
More words from Middle French, Italian, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جُمْهُور, جَمَاهِير
- جُمْهُور (jumhūr)common people
- جَمَاهِير (jamāhīr)common people
- عَوَامّ (ʕawāmm)common people
Catalan poble
- poblecommon people
Chinese Mandarin 民眾 /民众, 齊民 /齐民
- 民眾 /民众 (mínzhòng)common people
- 齊民 /齐民 (qímín)common people
- 庶民 (shùmín)common people
Dutch plebs
- plebscommon people
Esperanto popolamaso
- popolamasocommon people
Finnish kansa, rahvas
- kansacommon people
- rahvascommon people
French bas peuple, plèbe
- bas peuplecommon people
- plèbecommon people
- populacecommon people
German gemeine Volk, breite Masse
- gemeine Volkcommon people
- breite Massecommon people
- Pöbelcommon people
Hindi जनता, अवाम
- जनता (jantā)common people
- अवाम (avām)common people
- जमहूर (jamhūr)common people
Italian pubblico, popolo
- pubblicocommon people
- popolocommon people
Japanese 民衆, 大衆
- 民衆 (minshū)common people
- 大衆 (taishū)common people
- 庶民 (shomin)common people
Korean 민중, 대중
- 민중 (minjung)common people
- 대중 (daejung)common people
- 서민 (seomin)common people
Latin populus
- populuscommon people
Portuguese povão, povo
- povãocommon people
- povocommon people
Punjabi ਜਨਤਾ
- ਜਨਤਾ (jantā)common people
Russian просто́й наро́д, ма́ссы
- просто́й наро́д (prostój naród)common people
- ма́ссы (mássy)common people
- простонаро́дье (prostonaródʹje)common people
- толпа́ (tolpá)common people
- чернь (černʹ)common people
- сброд (sbrod)common people
- бы́дло (býdlo)common people
Spanish populacho, pueblo
- populachocommon people
- pueblocommon people
Turkish cumhur
- cumhurcommon people
Urdu عَوام, جَمْہُور
- عَوام ('avām)common people
- جَمْہُور (jamhūr)common people
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
populace. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/populace
“populace.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/populace. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “populace,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/populace.
Source: populace on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.