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

Africa's most populous country has long struggled to contain the jihadi violence in its northeast. —Arkansas Online, 11 Mar. 2026

Pembroke Pines Commissioners Tom Good and Mike Hernandez won reelection Tuesday despite a challenge from rivals eager to represent Broward County’s second most populous city. —Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026

Rockridge has long been among Oakland’s most idyllic and priciest areas, exactly the kind of neighborhood that is often resistant to the taller, more populous density housing the city is now planning for it. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026

Last year, the Tarrant County jail — in the third-most populous county in the state — ranked fifth in custodial deaths among the state’s largest county jails. —Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Mar. 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