What does populace mean?
Word: Populace
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Populace means all the ordinary people who live in a country or an area, as a group.
Synonyms: population, people, masses
Sounds like: populous (a different word said exactly the same way, with a different meaning and a different job in a sentence)
Word origin: From French populace, from Italian popolaccio, 'common people', from popolo, 'people'; Latin populus, 'people', is the root.
How do you spell populace?
Syllables: pop - u - lace
Tricky part: It sounds exactly like another word that ends in ous, so check the meaning before you choose the ending.
Watch out for: popolace, popalace
Memory tip: Keep the u of popular in the middle: the populace are the people who make things popular.
Populace in a sentence
Example 1: The king's new tax made the populace angry.
Example 2: Radio broadcasts kept the populace informed during the cyclone.
Example 3: Most of the town's populace turned up to watch the Republic Day parade.
Fun Fact
The Italian ending -accio in popolaccio was an unkind one, a bit like saying 'the rabble', but in English today populace is a neutral word.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the correct option to fill both blanks:
1. Uttar Pradesh is the most ___ state in India. 2. The ___ cheered when the rains finally arrived.
a) 'populous' in both
b) populous/populace
c) 'populace' in both
d) populace/populous
Show answer
b) populous/populace. A state can be populous, full of people; the people themselves are the populace.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
apcloepu
a) the mass of citizens of a land or region
b) the land and buildings that belong to a town
c) the rules by which a country is run
d) the money a government collects in taxes
Show answer
a) the mass of citizens of a land or region. The letters make populace, the people of a place.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
The new mayor promised the populase that every street in the town would have working lights before Diwali.
a) the townsfolk as a whole
b) the Hindu festival of lights
c) the elected head of a town or city
d) a road in a town with houses or shops
Show answer
a) the townsfolk as a whole. Populase should end in ace, with a c.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their synonyms:
1. populace 2. uproar 3. edict a. the public b. an official order c. a noisy protest
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. The populace is the public, an uproar is a noisy protest, and an edict is an official order.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is NOT part of a country's populace?
a) its farmers
b) its mountains
c) its students
d) its teachers
Show answer
b) its mountains
2. A leader who wants the support of the populace must win over ____.
a) the palace guards
b) a few rich traders
c) visitors from abroad
d) most ordinary townspeople
Show answer
d) most ordinary townspeople
