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

More than one billion people across faiths celebrate it in the world’s most populous nation and its diaspora. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026

Though Broward is Florida’s second most populous county, Jolly’s performance in the county (212,022 more votes than Donalds) wasn’t enough to overcome Republican strength elsewhere in the state. — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026

Newsom’s ‘retaliatory’ proposal What if California, the country’s most populous state with the most congressional districts, just as cynically redrew its maps to favor Democrats? — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Election results show that Laubacher is carrying the more urban — and more populous — corners of the 4th District, including Larimer, Douglas and Arapahoe counties, while Boebert leads in most rural counties, including Weld. — Elliott Wenzler, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

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