Populace-Populous | Commonly Confused Words
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Populace vs. Populous

Populace

/ˈpɒpjələs/
The people living in a particular area or country

Examples:

The local populace greeted the new mayor warmly.Environmental policies must consider the needs of the populace.The film was acclaimed by the general populace.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Populous

/ˈpɒpjələs/
Describing a place that has many people living in it.

Examples:

Tokyo ranks as the world’s most populous city.The populous region experienced rapid urbanization.Despite its size, the town is not very populous.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Ways to tell them apart:

etymology
  • Populace has people within its definition, focusing on the individuals in a population, whereas populous has us sounds, implying abundance in terms of numbers.
  • Think of populace as the individual members of a community, but populous refers to the density or number of people within a community or area.
  • Use populace when talking about the community or group of people itself, and use populous when describing how densely populated or crowded a place is.
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