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popular Definition

popu·lar (päp′yə lər)

adjective

  1. of or carried on by the common people or all the people popular government
  2. appealing to or intended for the general public popular music
  3. within the means of the ordinary person popular prices
  4. accepted among people in general; common; prevalent a popular notion
  5. liked by very many or most people a popular actor
  6. very well liked by one's friends and acquaintances

Etymology: L popularis < populus, people

popular Related Forms
pop′u·larly adverb
popular Synonyms

popular

modif.

  1. Generally liked

    favorite, well-liked, approved, well-received, sought-after, fashionable, stylish, beloved, attractive, praised, promoted, acclaimed, recommended, in the public eye, in demand, celebrated, noted, admired, famous, in favor, in high favor, favored, successful, in vogue, all the rage*, in*, hot*, big*, trendy*, on everybody's lips*; see also fashionable, modern 1.

    Antonyms unknown*, in disrepute, out of favor.

  2. Cheap

    low-priced, popular-priced, marked down; see cheap 1, economical 2.

  3. Commonly accepted

    general, familiar, prevalent, prevailing, current, common, accepted, rife, in use, widespread, ordinary, adopted, embraced, having caught on, in the majority, having caught the popular fancy; see also common 1, conventional 1, 2, traditional 2.

  4. Appealing to or intended for the general public

    accessible, lay, popularized, simplified, commercial, bourgeois, vulgar, pop*, geared-down*, dumbed-down*, kitschy*.

  5. Pertaining to ordinary people

    mass, public, grass-roots*; see democratic, republican. See syn. study at common.

popular Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • hugely: He is also hugely popular on his home stage.
  • increasingly: Who can blame you; dirt bike racing is an increasingly popular choice for many thrill seekers.
  • extremely: Our new range of cakes is also extremely popular.

Preposition: with

  • walker: Part of the Balmoral Estate these mountains are extremely popular with walkers.
  • surfer: Follow the scenic road along the coast and down to Hendaye, for another large and beautiful beach, popular with surfers.
  • angler: This sixty six acre water, is popular with local anglers, and visitors alike.
  • visitor: Victoria House and More London Bridge were the most popular with the visitors.
  • climber: All in all a great pair of axes that should be very popular with climbers moving on to winter routes.
  • traveler: With 3.2 million passengers holding some type of Bahncard, it seems evident that the national railcard is enormously popular with German rail travelers.

Preposition: for

  • decade: First airing in 1967, Speed Racer has remained popular for decades, from its original.. .

Modifies a noun

  • destination: Read more - Morocco - the increasingly popular destination of choice for us Brits.
  • culture: Yet, I was merely a nameless icon in the banality of American popular culture.
  • resort: Queens Gardens is a great location in the popular resort of Paphos.
  • belief: Contrary, alas, to popular belief, the looting of personal property is illegal under the Hague Rules of Land Warfare.
  • attraction: I reckon tourism is the most popular attraction for people.
  • choice: Who can blame you; dirt bike racing is an increasingly popular choice for many thrill seekers.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Russian courses in London are proving popular among businessmen wishing to deal with the former USSR.
  • become: Plant tissue culture became very popular in UK schools during the 1980s.
  • remain: First airing in 1967, Speed Racer has remained popular for decades, from its original.. .
  • seem: Last listed in 1998, it seems popular with florists, but I couldn't find any rose bushes.
popular Quotes

   Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity.

—Shaw, George Bernard

I never saw, heard, nor read, that the clergy were beloved inanynationwhere Christianity wasthereligion of the country. Nothing can render them popular, but some degree of persecution.

—Swift,Jonathan

Beware of over-great pleasure in being popular or even beloved.

—Fuller, (Sarah) Margaret, Marchioness Ossoli

Curse on his virtues! they've undone his country. Such popular humanity is treason.

—Addison,Joseph

Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.

—Hughes, Robert Studley Forrest

He's very popular among his mates. I think I'm Auden, he thinks he'sYeats.

—Ewart, Gavin Buchanan

I've finally figured out whysoap operas are, and logically should be, so popular with generations of housebound women. They are the only place in our culture where grown-up men take seriously all the things that grown- up women have to deal with all day long.

—Steinem, Gloria