publicity

8 synonyms and 1 antonym for publicity, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — Promotional activity intended to attract public attention to something.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

promotion exposure attention coverage

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

hype promo packaging

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

fanfare

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

Promotional activity intended to attract public attention to something.

“The band hired an agency to handle publicity for their new album.”

promotion exposure attention coverage hype fanfare promo packaging

2. noun

The state of being known about or noticed by the public, for better or worse.

“After the mix-up, the restaurant suffered some very unwelcome publicity online.”

Opposites

privacy

How to use publicity

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

publicity campaign seek publicity bad publicity publicity stunt

Etymology

From French publicité, ultimately from Latin publicus, "public."

Full origin of publicity →

Frequently asked questions

What does “publicity” mean?

The word “publicity” means promotional activity intended to attract public attention to something. In plain terms, attention from the public — usually attention a company or person is actively trying to create.

How do you pronounce “publicity”?

“Publicity” is pronounced puhb-LIH-sih-tee (/pʌbˈlɪsɪti/ in IPA).

How do you use “publicity” in a sentence?

Here is “publicity” used in a sentence: “The film's release was backed by a huge publicity campaign.”

What part of speech is “publicity”?

“Publicity” is a noun.

Where does the word “publicity” come from?

The word “publicity” comes from Latin. From French publicité, ultimately from Latin publicus, "public.".

Is “publicity” a common word?

“Publicity” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

How many meanings does “publicity” have?

“Publicity” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: promotional activity intended to attract public attention to something.

What is the difference between "publicity" and "advertising"?

Advertising is promotion that a company pays for directly, such as commercials and paid posts, while publicity is public attention itself — coverage, mentions, and word of mouth — which can be earned rather than bought. Publicity can also be negative, whereas advertising is controlled by whoever pays for it.

What is the difference between "publicity" and "public relations"?

Public relations (PR) is the broader practice of managing how an organization is perceived, while publicity is one of its outcomes: actual public attention, such as press coverage. A PR team works to win good publicity and to limit bad publicity.

Is "publicity" countable or uncountable?

"Publicity" is an uncountable noun, so it has no plural and never takes "a" — you say "the campaign attracted a lot of publicity", not "a publicity" or "publicities". Quantify it with words like "much", "little", or "a great deal of".

People also searched

attention coverage promotion exposure privacy packaging hype promo fanfare

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of publicity