Synonyms of populace

populace

noun

ˈpä-pyə-ləs 

as in people

the body of the community as contrasted with the elite

high officials awkwardly mingling with the general populace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• people
• public
• crowd
• mob
• commoners
• mass
• millions
• commons
• plebs
• plebeians
• multitude
• herd
• cattle
• rabble
• rank and file
• proletariat
• unwashed
• riffraff
• hoi polloi
• bourgeoisie
• rout
• scum
• middle class
• trash
• rabblement
• ragtag and bobtail
• tag, rag, and bobtail

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elite
• aristocracy
• elect
• cream
• choice
• pride
• flower
• society
• fat
• upper crust
• pink
• pick
• A-list
• best
• nobility
• quality
• gentry
• royalty
• patriciate
• gentlefolk
• corps d'elite
• peerage
• gentility
• haute monde

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of populace

The populace can only deduce that either Putin is responsible or the elites around him are insulating him from realizing and rectifying the situation. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Kyiv has focused many of its attacks on refineries and storage facilities supplying gas to Moscow’s residents, likely looking to impose as big of a cost on Russia’s most influential and well-off populace. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 June 2026

But the show repeatedly undercuts that point of view by halfway reinforcing the age-old American assumption that crime is born of poor individual choices among an uncivilized populace, not of poverty, desperation, and preservation, both self and communal. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026

Walk our entire populace there and have the tools to be able to accomplish that. — Nathalie Marie Palacios, CBS News, 21 June 2026