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as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy a truly popular revolution, not one that replaced one dictatorship with another

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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as in affordable
being within the financial means of most people from their inception, DVDs were designed to be sold directly to consumers at popular prices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective popular contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of popular are common, familiar, ordinary, plain, and vulgar. While all these words mean "generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual," popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

When is it sensible to use common instead of popular?

While the synonyms common and popular are close in meaning, common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

a common error
lacked common honesty
common manners

When would familiar be a good substitute for popular?

In some situations, the words familiar and popular are roughly equivalent. However, familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

When might ordinary be a better fit than popular?

While in some cases nearly identical to popular, ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day
a very ordinary sort of man

In what contexts can plain take the place of popular?

The words plain and popular can be used in similar contexts, but plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

How are the words vulgar and popular related?

Vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of popular The game-changing mechanical digital watch, which debuted in white gold in 2019, has been reimagined in the popular (and pretty) gold alloy. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 31 July 2025 The village’s recently opened popular Irish bar, Teehan’s, and the next door restaurant, Durbin’s, also joined the square’s debut celebrations. Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025 In keeping with popular male balms for spiritual suffering, Turner turns to alcohol and functions as a mollusk, socially and professionally; his stoicism is an act, one his peers pick up on, and which some openly deride. Andy Crump, Time, 20 July 2025 The popular series followed monster-hunting brothers. Nicholas Rice, People.com, 19 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for popular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for popular
Adjective
  • Thumping techno drums roll in alongside the stabbing synth lead, which nods to the fashionable sound of the decade’s preferred flavor of techno, currently spearheaded by the likes of Charlotte de Witte and Sara Landry.
    Katie Bain, Billboard, 23 July 2025
  • The Bicester Collection was among those early visionaries embedding emotion, atmosphere, and local nuance into its villages long before experiential retail became fashionable.
    Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Adjective
  • Dongfang, which enjoyed a 45% share in the conventional hydropower market, could rake in as much as 54 billion yuan from the new project, according to Lau.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 23 July 2025
  • The Male Opportunity Here’s where conventional understanding of resale may miss the mark: men are driving resale adoption more aggressively than women.
    Kristen Classi-Zummo, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Adjective
  • Teresa Moore, the board’s general counsel, said the state is misreading the funding law and should be looking at the original $42 million as an annual requirement, not a one-time expense.
    Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 25 July 2025
  • Claire Wilkinson, the general counsel for the School District, showed board members the two AI policies.
    Edward McKinnon, Arkansas Online, 25 July 2025
Adjective
  • Walker, who was governor from 2011 to 2019 when Democratic Gov. Tony Evers defeated his bid for a third term, has made a series of posts on X signaling interest in a potential new bid for the governor.
    Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 26 July 2025
  • Most people in the racially diverse, heavily Democratic state capital of Tallahassee now have a white congressman living 100 miles away in Panama City.
    Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2025
Adjective
  • Offering payment plans or deferrals during these difficult times can go a long way towards making housing affordable.
    Alex Vasquez, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
  • The average home price is about $635,000, which is higher than more affordable places to buy a home, but still below the statewide median of $786,107, as of Wedesday, July 30.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Though prices at the pump typically jump when refineries switch to a more expensive summer blend of gasoline, lower crude oil prices have led to cheaper gas this summer.
    Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Under 25% Source: Zillow These cities became incredibly overheated during the pandemic, when out-of-state remote workers moved in to find cheaper homes, a more affordable cost of living, and a good quality of life.
    Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
    Nick Romano, EW.com, 27 July 2025
  • Stitch was envisioned years before and quite differently Sanders, 63, revealed that everyone's favorite extraterrestrial chaos agent was originally green rather than blue, and a forest dweller.
    Sharareh Drury, People.com, 26 July 2025
Adjective
  • Roeck’s Renaissance begins in the twelfth century—the high Middle Ages, in our usual accounting—and carries the story through the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the Baroque.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
  • The volatility also comes amid the expectation of a peak shipping season that came and went earlier than usual due to the tariff whiplash.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 28 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Popular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/popular. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

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