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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ Appeal to popularity ⚖️ Against the people
in populum

in populum

9.9
An argument that appeals to what many people think or feel rather than to facts
  • idiom
  • /ɪn ˈpɒpjʊləm/
  • Formal
translation icon : ad populum
  • The politician's speech was criticized for relying on in populum rather than presenting real evidence.

Examples

  • Many advertisements use in populum tactics to make their products seem more desirable.

  • Debaters are warned not to use in populum arguments to sway the audience.

  • Don't fall for in populum arguments!

  • The politician relied on in populum arguments to sway the crowd.

  • The politician's speech was criticized for relying on in populum rhetoric that appealed to emotions instead of facts.

  • Many advertisements use in populum strategies to persuade consumers by playing on their feelings.

  • During the debate, the candidates were cautioned against using in populum arguments to mislead the audience.

Synonyms

sloganeering
vsin populum
  • Literature
3 8.1

Using short catchy phrases to persuade people without real reasons

focuses on majority feeling or emotion rather than careful logical reasoning
loaded language
vsin populum
  • Literature
1 7.9

Words that make people feel strong emotions to change what they think

applies to wider appeals based on majority feeling rather than logical proof
emotivism
vsin populum
9.9

A way of speaking that uses strong emotional words to influence people's feelings instead of facts

also seeks majority agreement rather than relying only on emotional appeals

Antonyms

logical thinking
1 3.7

A careful use of reason to solve problems

How Emotional

demagoguery
  • Literature
13 9.5
in populum
  • Formal
9.9
emotivism
9.9
argument
∞ 2.5

Surface Forms

in populum singular
in populi plural

Morphology

in + populum

The phrase is compositionally built from Latin in ('in,/to/against') + populum (people), so a learner who genuinely knew both constituents could infer an approximate sense related to ‘the people’. However, this is a technical Latin legal locution whose precise sense and case-driven directionality (e.g. ‘against the people’ vs. ‘to the people’) depend on Latin grammar and legal convention, so the meaning is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

In populum comes from the Latin words in and populum, meaning 'to the people', and it gives the image of a speaker addressing a crowd to win their feelings instead of offering facts. So it now refers to an argument that tries to persuade by appealing to the people rather than by reason.