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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
In 1941 Wales, the populace all begin dreaming of King Arthur’s return, while also claiming to witness waking phenomena like dragons in the London Underground and lights at Stonehenge.
—
Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026
This wretched regime is doomed to be overthrown by the risen populace and rebellious youth.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
For its part, Singapore has been aggressively retrofitted according to the whims of capital—its coastline expanded, its graveyards exhumed and paved over, its landmarks destroyed—leaving the populace disoriented.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Some outsiders regarded the sect as an English plot to neutralize the populace with religious fervor, opening the way for a British reconquest of New England.
—Christian Goodwillie, The Conversation, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populace
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Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026
This wretched regime is doomed to be overthrown by the risen populace and rebellious youth.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
For its part, Singapore has been aggressively retrofitted according to the whims of capital—its coastline expanded, its graveyards exhumed and paved over, its landmarks destroyed—leaving the populace disoriented.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Some outsiders regarded the sect as an English plot to neutralize the populace with religious fervor, opening the way for a British reconquest of New England.
—Christian Goodwillie, The Conversation, 22 Dec. 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 4 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
populace
noun
pop·u·lace
ˈpäp-yə-ləs 
1
: the common people : masses
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