common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual. common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence a common error lacked common honesty and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness. common manners ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things. an ordinary pleasant summer day a very ordinary sort of man plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity. plain hard-working people familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized. a familiar melody popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups. a writer of popular romances vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness). souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Examples of popular in a Sentence

They have names that were popular a century ago. He is a popular guy in school. Spicy foods have become increasingly popular. That is a very popular misconception. The word “groovy” was popular in the 1960s but it's outdated now. Her theories are popular among social scientists. a popular history of physics See More

Recent Examples on the Web Even shares of companies taken public by some of the most popular SPAC creators, such as venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, have tumbled. — Amrith Ramkumar, WSJ, 18 May 2022 The Jacksonville woman searched for suitors in May 2017 on Plenty of Fish, one of the most popular dating websites owned by Match Group, the world’s top online dating service company. — Natalia Galicza, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2022 Lilies are one of the most popular flowers in the United States, rivaling several of the nation's other favorites like roses, tulips and daisies. — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, 18 May 2022 For job applications from students nationally, Boston was the fourth most popular city, behind New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. — Emily Curtis, BostonGlobe.com, 18 May 2022 In the 20-year period the ATF focused on, the most popular gun type in the U.S. shifted. — Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 18 May 2022 The Jacksonville woman searched for suitors in May 2017 on Plenty of Fish, one of the most popular dating websites owned by Match Group, the world’s top online dating service company. — Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2022 The top three most popular theories of consciousness, including global workspace, fundamentally disagree on whether, or under what conditions, a computer might be conscious. — Jim Davies, Scientific American, 18 May 2022 There are myriad reasons why the Little Horse Trail is one of the most popular hiking routes in Sedona. — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'popular.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.