✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate Dictionary — Buy Now!

popish

adjective

pop·​ish ˈpō-pish How to pronounce popish (audio)
often disparaging
: roman catholic

Word History

Etymology

pope

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of popish was in 1528

Browse Nearby Words

popinjay green
popish
popishly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Popish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/popish. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What’s the difference between ‘cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Are you in a 'food coma'?

The Words of the Week - Nov. 21

17 Words for Dog Breeds

Words That Turned 100 in 2025

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See More

Popular

See More

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Are you in a 'food coma'?

The Words of the Week - Nov. 21
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-633b10471e2d4
Name That Thing MegaQuiz: Vol. 2 Test your visual vocabulary!
See All