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Definition of popular - 5 dictionary results

pop⋅u⋅lar

  [pop-yuh-ler]
Use popular in a Sentence
–adjective
1. regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general: a popular preacher.
2. regarded with favor, approval, or affection by an acquaintance or acquaintances: He's not very popular with me just now.
3. of, pertaining to, or representing the people, esp. the common people: popular discontent.
4. of the people as a whole, esp. of all citizens of a nation or state qualified to participate in an election: popular suffrage; the popular vote; popular representation.
5. prevailing among the people generally: a popular superstition.
6. suited to or intended for the general masses of people: popular music.
7. adapted to the ordinary intelligence or taste: popular lectures on science.
8. suited to the means of ordinary people; not expensive: popular prices on all tickets.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME populer < L populāris. See people, -ar 1

Synonyms:
1. favorite, approved, liked. 5. common, current. See general.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pop·u·lar   (pŏp'yə-lər)   
adj.  
  1. Widely liked or appreciated: a popular resort.
  2. Liked by acquaintances; sought after for company: "Beware of over-great pleasure in being popular or even beloved" (Margaret Fuller).
  3. Of, representing, or carried on by the people at large: the popular vote.
  4. Fit for, adapted to, or reflecting the taste of the people at large: popular entertainment; popular science.
  5. Accepted by or prevalent among the people in general: a popular misunderstanding of the issue.
  6. Suited to or within the means of ordinary people: popular prices.
  7. Originating among the people: popular legend.

[Middle English populer, commonly known, from Old French populeir, of the people, from Latin populāris, from populus, the people, of Etruscan origin.]
pop'u·lar·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Popular

Pop"u*lar\, a. [L. popularis, fr. populus people: cf. F. populaire. See People.]

1. Of or pertaining to the common people, or to the whole body of the people, as distinguished from a select portion; as, the popular voice; popular elections. "Popular states." --Bacon. "So the popular vote inclines." --Milton.

The men commonly held in popular estimation are greatest at a distance. --J. H. Newman.

2. Suitable to common people; easy to be comprehended; not abstruse; familiar; plain.

Homilies are plain popular instructions. --Hooker.

3. Adapted to the means of the common people; possessed or obtainable by the many; hence, cheap; common; ordinary; inferior; as, popular prices; popular amusements.

The smallest figs, called popular figs, . . . are, of all others, the basest and of least account. --Holland.

4. Beloved or approved by the people; pleasing to people in general, or to many people; as, a popular preacher; a popular law; a popular administration.

5. Devoted to the common people; studious of the favor of the populace. [R.]

Such popular humanity is treason. --Addison.

6. Prevailing among the people; epidemic; as, a popular disease. [Obs.] --Johnson.

Popular action (Law), an action in which any person may sue for penalty imposed by statute. --Blackstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : popular
Spanish: popular, persona que tiene éxito,
German: beliebt,
Japanese: 人気のある
More Translations »

popular 
1490, "public," from L. popularis "belonging to the people," from populus "people." Meaning "well-liked, admired by the people" is attested from 1608. Popularity "fact or condition of being beloved by the people" is first recorded 1601; popularity contest is from 1941. Popular Front "coalition of Communists, Socialists, and radicals" is from 1936. Popularize "to make a complex topic intelligible to the people" is from 1833.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pop·u·lar
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to the general public
2 a : of, relating to, or by the people (as of a nation or state) as a whole as distinguished from a specific class or group b : based on or alleged to be based on the will of the people
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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