popularadjective
uk/ˈpɒp.jə.lər/us/ˈpɑː.pjə.lɚ/popular adjective (LIKED)
A2 liked, enjoyed, or supported by many people:
She's the most popular teacher in school.
That song was popular with people from my father's generation.
Walking is a popular form of exercise in Britain.
How popular is Madonna among/with teenagers?
informal Jan wasn't very popular (= people were annoyed by her) when she opened all the windows on that cold day.
Opposite
unpopular
More examples
- The government's policies have not been popular with the voters.
- The potato is the most popular vegetable in Britain.
- This particular stretch of coast is especially popular with walkers.
- At school he was popular and self-confident, and we weren't surprised at his later success.
- It's the good weather that makes Spain such a popular tourist destination.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Liked, or not liked, by many people
- acquire
- an acquired taste idiom
- be in sb's good/bad books idiom
- be the new rock and roll idiom
- be welcome to idiom
- cross
- flavour of the month idiom
- gain
- golden boy/girl
- killer app
- lose
- lose ground idiom
- must-have
- pack
- pop
- top-rated
- undesirable
- unlovable
- unpopular
- unwanted
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popular adjective (GENERAL)
B2 [ before noun ] for or involving ordinary people rather than experts or very educated people:
popular music/entertainment/culture
The issue was virtually ignored by the popular press.
The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus.
More examples
- popular culture
- Contrary to popular opinion, I don't dye my hair!
- The tabloid newspapers have fastened on popular psychology.
- We hope our work will help to change popular misconceptions about disabled people.
- He owed his popular support to the potency of his propaganda machine.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Ordinary people
- community
- Essex girl
- folk
- grassroots
- Jane Doe
- Joe Bloggs
- mass
- mass market
- Middle America
- mortal
- multitude
- omnibus
- on the ground idiom
- popularly
- prole
- the common man idiom
- the general public
- the hoi polloi
- the man/woman in the street idiom
- the man/woman on the Clapham omnibus idiom
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