populous
/ˈpɑpjələs/adjective
populous is spelled P-O-P-U-L-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “populace vs populous” about 30 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, populous means “Having a large population” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in populous?
| Letters | 8: P-O-P-U-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is populous?
Populous appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce populous?
- UK /ˈpɒpjʊləs/
- US /ˈpɑpjələs/
- /ˈpɔp(j)ʊləs/
Populous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-populous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with populous
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: populace (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with populous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as populous from its last stressed vowel (/ɑpjələs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of populous
- more populous comparative
- most populous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does populous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a large population.
China is the most populous country in the world.
- 2
Spoken by a large number of people.
Chinese is the most populous language.
- 3
Densely populated.
The Nile delta is a populous region.
- 4
Crowded with people.
Airport departure halls are often populous places during the rush hours.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Populous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | populeux |
| German | volkreich, bevölkerungsreich, bevölkert , häufig gesprochen, weit verbreitet , dichtbevölkert |
| Portuguese | populoso |
| Spanish | poblado, populoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does populous come from?
First used in English in the mid 15th century; from Latin populosus (“full of people, populous”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).