populous
/ˈpɒpjʊləs/
"populous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“populous” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,998 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,998
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a large population.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | populous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɒpjʊləs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #16,998 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “populous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for populous is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɒpjʊləs/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,998 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for populous, with forms such as "oppulous", "popluous", and "poppulous". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "populace", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: First used in English in the mid 15th century; from Latin populosus (“full of people, populous”). The correct English form is populous, spelled P-O-P-U-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Having a large population.
- 2Spoken by a large number of people.
- 3Densely populated.
- 4Crowded with people.
Etymology
First used in English in the mid 15th century; from Latin populosus (“full of people, populous”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oppulous,popluous,poppulous,popullous,populosu,populouss,populuos,popuolus,pouplous,ppopulous,ppoulous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of populous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "populous"?
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Using “populous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-P-U-L-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɒpjʊləs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “populace” - see the side-by-side comparison. populous vs populace
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.