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Populace is usually used to refer to all the people of a country. Thus, we're often told that an educated and informed populace is essential for a healthy American democracy. Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous radio "Fireside Chats" informed and reassured the American populace in the 1930s as we struggled through the Great Depression. We often hear about what "the general populace" is thinking or doing, but generalizing about something so huge can be tricky.
Examples of populace in a Sentence
The populace has suffered greatly.
high officials awkwardly mingling with the general populace
Recent Examples on the Web
This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Rather than unifying and pacifying a populace, this kind of media encouraged idiosyncratic, extreme views.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 8 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Chun’s government used 3S, including the greenlighting of Korea’s first adult films, as an unsuccessful attempt to distract the populace from this kind of violence and suppression.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
If Democratic messaging caters to the populace more concerned with the first objective than the latter, Hernaiz suspects their appeal will continue to wane.
—Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populace
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Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Rather than unifying and pacifying a populace, this kind of media encouraged idiosyncratic, extreme views.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 8 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Chun’s government used 3S, including the greenlighting of Korea’s first adult films, as an unsuccessful attempt to distract the populace from this kind of violence and suppression.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
If Democratic messaging caters to the populace more concerned with the first objective than the latter, Hernaiz suspects their appeal will continue to wane.
—Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populace
Cite this Entry
“Populace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/populace. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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populace
noun
pop·u·lace
ˈpäp-yə-ləs 
1
: the common people : masses
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