publicity

publicity — noun

1. the act of trying to make the public notice a person, product, organization, or

1.nounB2
Definition

the act of trying to make the public notice a person, product, organization, or event, usually through media coverage or advertising; also, the attention or interest that results from such efforts

Example

The film studio hired a team to handle the publicity for the new movie.

collocation: handle publicity

All the negative publicity surrounding the factory's pollution hurt its sales.

collocation: negative publicity surrounding [something]

Common collocations
  • generate publicity
  • receive publicity
  • good publicity
  • bad publicity
  • negative publicity
  • positive publicity
  • wide publicity
  • media publicity
  • publicity campaign
  • publicity stunt
  • publicity machine
  • avoid publicity
  • seek publicity
  • handle publicity
  • publicity department
Synonyms
  • advertising

    specifically refers to paid media space and ads, while publicity can be earned without payment

  • promotion

    broader term covering all marketing efforts, including discounts and events, not just media attention

  • media coverage

    focuses specifically on news and editorial mentions rather than overall public attention

  • hype

    informal and often suggests exaggerated or intensive publicity

Antonyms
  • privacy

    the state of being away from public attention or scrutiny

Grammar Patterns

no plural form

Usage Note

Publicity is an uncountable noun and has no plural form. Do not write 'publicities' or 'a publicity'.

Common Mistakes

The movie got a lot of publicities.
The movie got a lot of publicity.
publicity is uncountable.
She works in advertising, which means she gets media coverage for her clients.
She works in publicity, which means she gets media coverage for her clients.
advertising is paid media space; publicity includes unpaid media attention.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Publicity, advertising, promotion, hype, and media coverage all relate to making something known, but they differ in method and connotation. Publicity refers to any attention from the public or media, whether earned or paid; it is the broadest term here. Advertising is specifically paid, non-personal messages in media space — a company buys ad slots. Promotion is a wider marketing concept that includes discounts, events, and free samples in addition to paid or unpaid media. Hype is informal and often negative, suggesting that the attention is exaggerated or artificially created. Media coverage is narrower, focusing only on mentions by news outlets, not on word-of-mouth or direct marketing. For example, a product launch can get free media coverage (good publicity), be supported by paid advertising, and generate hype among fans — three overlapping but distinct efforts.

publicity ↗advertising ↗promotion ↗hype ↗media coverage

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Publicity comes from the French word 'publicité', which was formed from the Latin 'publicus' meaning 'of the people' or 'belonging to the state'. It first entered English in the 1600s with the simple meaning 'the quality or condition of being public'. The modern meaning — actively seeking or receiving public attention through media — did not appear until around 1826, when businesses and organizations began deliberately managing their public image.