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

But in the opening minutes of his first stop at a local restaurant, the president raised debunked claims of voter fraud, talked up his plan to require voters to show identification before casting ballots, and discussed the recent FBI raid of election offices in the state’s most populous county. —Jeff Amy, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

And India, the world’s most populous country and host of this year’s flagship global AI summit, is making meaningful advances, as are previous hosts France, South Korea, and the UK, as well as techno-democracies like Israel and Japan. —Jared Cohen, Time, 18 Feb. 2026

Analysts say an exodus of billionaires could mean a loss of hundreds of millions of tax dollars for the nation’s most populous state. —Michael R. Blood, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026

With a footprint in two of the world’s most populous countries, Gu is a sports marketer’s dream. —Zak Keefer, New York Times, 17 Feb. 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