populace

noun

pop·​u·​lace ˈpä-pyə-ləs How to pronounce populace (audio)
1
: the common people : masses
2

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.

Examples of populace in a Sentence

The populace has suffered greatly. high officials awkwardly mingling with the general populace
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The 2020 Pew study found that Reform Jews are 37% of the American Jewish populace, followed by Jews that claim no particular branch — 32% —and then Conservatives at 17% . Michael Weissenstein, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025 Even before the expiration of the war's longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid to Gaza's civilian populace. Arkansas Online, 2 July 2025 This offers the populace some measure of accountability and contributes to the expectation that officers will perform their legal duties in keeping with their own departmental policies and within the boundaries of the law. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2025 Imagine arriving in Florence ready to guide and instruct the populace and instead being tussled over like a toy between two toddlers! The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 29 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for populace

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of populace was in 1572

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Cite this Entry

“Populace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/populace. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

populace

noun
pop·​u·​lace ˈpäp-yə-ləs How to pronounce populace (audio)
1
: the common people : masses
2

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