The men commonly held in popular estimation are
greatest at a distance. --J. H.
Newman.
2. Suitable to common people; easy to be comprehended; not
abstruse; familiar; plain.
Homilies are plain popular instructions. --Hooker.
3. Adapted to the means of the common people; possessed or
obtainable by the many; hence, cheap; common; ordinary;
inferior; as, popular prices; popular amusements.
The smallest figs, called popular figs, . . . are,
of all others, the basest and of least account.
--Holland.
4. Beloved or approved by the people; pleasing to people in
general, or to many people; as, a popular preacher; a
popular law; a popular administration.
5. Devoted to the common people; studious of the favor of the
populace. [R.]
Such popular humanity is treason. --Addison.
6. Prevailing among the people; epidemic; as, a popular
disease. [Obs.] --Johnson.
{Popular action} (Law), an action in which any person may sue
for penalty imposed by statute. --Blackstone.