populace

Compared meaning: people in general (noun).

比较义项：泛指人们、大众（名词）。

• world

  Informal and often hyperbolic; means everyone, humanity in general, especially as an audience to be told, shown or impressed; not tied to one country.

  非正式且常带夸张色彩，指“所有人，全人类”，尤其作为被告知、被展示或需要说服的对象，不局限于某一个国家。

  She wanted to prove to the world that she could succeed.

  她想向全世界证明自己能够成功。

• public

  Neutral, everyday word for ordinary people as a group, often contrasted with officials, experts or a company; common in service, safety and business contexts.

  中性、日常用词，指作为一个群体的普通民众，常与官员、专家或公司相对；常用于服务、安全和商业语境。

  The company apologized to the public after the data breach.

  数据泄露事件发生后，公司向公众道歉。

• populace 本词

  Formal or literary word for the entire population of a country or region, often used when describing how they are governed, taxed or ruled.

  正式或文学化用词，指一个国家或地区的全体人口，常用于描述他们如何被治理、征税或统治。

  The king's heavy taxes made the populace deeply resentful of his rule.

  国王繁重的赋税让民众对他的统治深感怨恨。

World, public and populace all mean people generally. World is informal, meaning everyone as an audience to impress. Public is neutral, ordinary people versus officials or experts. Populace is formal, a country's population, linked to its rulers. Not compared: world meaning 'earth', public as adjective.

这三个词在“泛指人们”这个意义上相近，但语域和搭配不同：world 非正式、范围最广，常用于“向全世界证明或宣告”；public 中性日常，强调与官方或专家相对的普通大众；populace 正式书面，常见于描述一国或一地民众与统治者的关系。这里不比较 world 的“世界，地球”义和 public 的“公共的，公开的”（形容词）义。