popular

popular — adjective

1. winning interest, approval, or support from many people

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

winning interest, approval, or support from many people

Example

The new bubble tea shop became popular with high school students.

be popular with + group

Nina is popular because she remembers everyone's birthday at work.

Common collocations
  • popular with students
  • popular teacher
  • popular choice
  • grow popular
Synonyms
  • well-liked

    very close in meaning, especially for people in a smaller group

  • favorite

    stronger; suggests being liked more than others

  • fashionable

    narrower and often about current style or trends

  • mainstream

    focuses on fitting common taste, not always on warm approval

Antonyms
  • unpopular

    not liked or supported by many people

  • disliked

    more direct and personal, without the idea of wide public opinion

Grammar Patterns

be popular with someone

be popular among someone

a popular choice

become popular

Usage Note

Often used with with or among to name the group that likes someone or something. Common noun partners include teacher, choice, game, song, and restaurant.

Common Mistakes

The singer is popular to teenagers.
The singer is popular with teenagers.
Use popular with or popular among for the group that likes someone or something.

2. suited to ordinary people or shared by many of them, not limited to experts or a

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

suited to ordinary people or shared by many of them, not limited to experts or a small educated group

Example

This popular science book explains space travel with pictures and short chapters.

popular + subject noun

A popular belief says rain on a wedding day brings luck.

popular belief = widely shared idea

Common collocations
  • popular science
  • popular belief
  • popular history
  • popular language
Synonyms
  • accessible

    stresses that ordinary readers or listeners can understand it

  • introductory

    suggests a first and simpler level for beginners

  • mainstream

    often points to ideas or culture accepted by most people

Antonyms
  • technical

    uses specialist knowledge or language

  • specialist

    meant for experts or people with deep training

  • academic

    often more formal or aimed at serious study

Grammar Patterns

popular science

popular history

popular belief

popular language

Usage Note

Usually before a noun. Common with science, history, account, guide, belief, and language. Distinguish from adjective/1, which says many people like something.

Common Mistakes

The book is popular science because everyone bought it.
The book is popular science because general readers can understand it.
Here popular describes the target reader, not sales or approval.

3. relating to a nation's people as a whole, especially their culture, wishes, or p

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to a nation's people as a whole, especially their culture, wishes, or political action

Example

The film studies popular culture in Taipei during the 1980s.

popular culture of ordinary people

The strike grew into a popular movement after food prices rose.

popular movement in politics

Common collocations
  • popular culture
  • popular movement
  • popular support
  • popular anger
Synonyms
  • public

    broader and often less emotional or political

  • grassroots

    stresses ordinary people's participation from below

  • civic

    often relates to citizens and public life, especially in formal contexts

Antonyms
  • elite

    relating to a small powerful or highly educated group instead of ordinary people

Grammar Patterns

popular culture

popular support

popular movement

popular anger

Usage Note

Only before a noun in this entry. Common with culture, support, anger, movement, and tradition. Distinguish from adjective/2, which is about something made for ordinary people to understand.

Common Mistakes

The professor wrote a popular article about stars.
The professor wrote a popular science article about stars.
This sense links something to the people as a whole, while adjective/2 is the sense for non-specialist readers.
Idioms

conventional/received/popular wisdom

idiom

The idea or opinion that most people in a society accept as true.

Popular wisdom says you should never go swimming right after eating.

Did conventional wisdom really predict that the team would lose?

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Popular is the broad everyday word for someone or something that many people like or choose. Well-liked is close, but it is used especially for people and for smaller groups, such as a teacher, coach, or classmate. Famous is different: it means many people know the person or thing, but they may not admire it. Fashionable is narrower and often temporary, especially for clothes, restaurants, or social habits. Mainstream focuses on fitting general taste or common culture, not on warm approval. A cafe can be popular with students, a singer can be famous worldwide, and a jacket can be fashionable for one season.

popular ↗well-likedfamous ↗fashionable ↗mainstream ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Popular came into English from Old French populaire, which came from Latin popularis, meaning connected with the people or pleasing to them. The Latin word was built from populus, meaning people. English kept both sides of that older idea, so popular can describe something many people like, or something linked with ordinary people and public life.