popularity
- 1The state of being liked or supported by many people.
Like being the kid everyone wants to sit with at lunch.
The singer's popularity grew after her first hit song.
Video games gain popularity quickly among teenagers.
Similarfavor, approval, appeal, acclaim
Oppositeunpopularity
- 2The quality of pleasing common, poor, or uneducated people.
The cheap stories had a popularity with poor readers that richer folk looked down on.
So this Gallant, labouring to avoid Popularity, falls into a habit of Affectation, Ten thousand times hatefuller than the former.
1600, Ben Jonson, Every Man Out of His HumourHere, Popularity means the quality of pleasing common, ordinary people.Note
- 3Something said or done only to win the favor of ordinary people.
The pamphlet was full of popularity, empty promises made just to please the crowd.
His jokes were pure popularity, meant only to win cheers from ordinary people.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4A strong feeling shared by many people in public.
A great popularity for the cause spread among the common people.
A little time be allowed for the madness of popularity to cease.
1834, George Bancroft, History of the United StatesHere, popularity means a strong feeling shared by many people.Note
- 5The act of trying to win the favor of ordinary people.
Cato (the younger) charged Muraena, and indicted him in open court for popularity and ambition.
1603, Plutarch, MoraliaHere, popularity means trying to win the favor of ordinary people.Note
- 6The quality of being cheap, low, or in poor taste.
You could see the popularity of the room in its cheap, gaudy furniture.
The dress had a certain popularity, cheap, showy, and in poor taste.
Note
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
From "popular" plus "-ity." It goes back to Latin "popularitas," meaning an effort to please the people.