Meaning & use

widespread

adjective·Academic

Found or distributed over a large area or among many people.

See it in a sentence

Widespread flooding forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.

The new phone received widespread praise from critics and users alike.

A note on using this word

"Widespread" describes something's reach or distribution, not its intensity, so it pairs well with nouns like "concern," "damage," or "support."

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

rarelocalized

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