populous

First used in English in the mid 15th century; from Latin populosus (“full of people, populous”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒpjʊləs/

  • Audio (Southern England)

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• (US) enPR: päpʹyə-ləs, IPA^(key): /ˈpɑpjələs/
• Homophone: populace

populous (comparative more populous, superlative most populous)

1. Having a large population.

   China is the most populous country in the world.

2. (of a language) Spoken by a large number of people.

   Chinese is the most populous language.

   • 1974, Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, Nina M. Hyams, An Introduction to Language, →ISBN, page 524:

     The Sino-Tibetan family includes Mandarin, the most populous language in the world, spoken by more than one billion Chinese.

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.

• Do not confuse populace (a noun) with populous (an adjective).