populous

adjective

pop·​u·​lous ˈpä-pyə-ləs 

1

a

: densely populated

b

: having a large population

2

a

: numerous

b

: filled to capacity

populously adverb

populousness noun

Did you know?

With a metropolitan area of more than 20 million people, Mexico City could be called the world's second or third most populous city. And the nearby Aztec city of Tenochtitlán was one of the largest cities in the world even when Hernán Cortés arrived there in 1519. But by the time Cortés conquered the city in 1521 it wasn't nearly so populous, since European diseases had greatly reduced the population. Avoid confusing populous and populace, which are pronounced exactly the same.

Examples of populous in a Sentence

the most populous state in the U.S.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ethiopia, the continent’s second most populous nation with a population of 120 million, sees the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on a tributary of the Nile as central to its economic ambitions. —CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025

That includes Miami-Dade, the most-populous county in the state and the place that Democrats long relied on to help bolster their statewide vote counts. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025

Twelve of the 30 most populous cities had higher rates of this crime, according to the FBI. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

Philadelphia is the sixth-most populous city in the country and the most heavily populated city in the state of Pennsylvania. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English populous, populus, borrowed from Latin populōsus, from populus people entry 1 + -ōsus -ous

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for populous

• populace
• populus

Kids Definition

populous

adjective

pop·​u·​lous ˈpäp-yə-ləs 

: having a large population