populace

/ˈpɒpjʊləs/

//ˈpɒpjʊləs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"populace" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“populace” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,658. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,658
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The common people of a nation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-populace · populace · English

populace · rank #18,658 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,658
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Poole

Nearest frequency peer: Poole (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “populace”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “populace” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

populace vs popular
75% similar
populace vs populate
88% similar
populace vs populous
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for populace
PropertyValue
Headwordpopulace
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɒpjʊləs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,658
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “populace”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).populacelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Poole” (#18,657), “Pretoria” (#18,659), “pricey” (#18,660). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “populace” is #18,658. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around populace (IPA /ˈpɒpjʊləs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,658 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for populace, with forms such as "oppulace", "popluace", and "poppulace". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "popular", "populate", "populous", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French populace, from Italian popolaccio. Compare demotic. The correct English form is populace, spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The common people of a nation.
  2. 2
    The inhabitants of a country or one of its administrative divisions (such as a state, province, or county).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how populace appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The populace despised their ignorant leader.
  2. Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied th…

Etymology

From Middle French populace, from Italian popolaccio. Compare demotic.

Synonyms

common peoplehoi polloimassespeoplerabbleriff-raffinhabitantspopulation

This word in other languages

populacho(Español)bas peuple(Français)Pöbel(Deutsch)povo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oppulace
  • popluace
  • poppulace
  • popualce
  • populacce
  • populaec
  • populcae
  • popullace
  • pouplace
  • ppopulace
  • ppoulace

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of populace - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oppulace2popluace2poppulace1popualce2populacce1populaec2populcae2popullace1
Edit distance from "populace"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "populace"?
"populace" is spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒpjʊləs/.
What does "populace" mean?
As a noun, "populace" means: The common people of a nation.
What words are commonly confused with "populace"?
"populace" is commonly confused with "popular", "populate", "populous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "populace"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "populace" is /ˈpɒpjʊləs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "populace"?
From Middle French populace, from Italian popolaccio. Compare demotic. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "populace", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pretoria#18,659radiator#18,670O'Reilly#18,638ridicule#18,679

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

oysters11 variantsMongolia11 variantsMilford11 variantsShelton11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list