Word family noun public publication publicist publicity adjective public verb publicize adverb publicly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpublicitypub‧lic‧i‧ty /pʌˈblɪsəti/ ●●○ S3 W3 noun [uncountable] 1 AMPUBLICIZE/MAKE KNOWNthe attention that someone or something gets from newspapers, television etc Standards in education have received much publicity over the last few years.bad/good/unwelcome etc publicity It’s important to gain good publicity for the school. The adverse publicity had damaged sales.2 BBAthe business of making sure that people know about a new product, film etc or what a particular famous person is doing Who’s going to do the show’s publicity? The Government has launched a publicity campaign. Is their much-reported romance just a publicity stunt (=something that is only done to get publicity)?COLLOCATIONSadjectivesbad publicity (also adverse/negative publicity formal)Fatty foods have received much bad publicity in recent years.They don't want any more adverse publicity.good publicityTop exam results are good publicity for schools.free publicityGiving away samples is one way of getting free publicity for your products.widespread/wide publicityThe scandal had received widespread publicity.national publicityCandidates aim to get national publicity during election campaigns.considerable/massive/extensive publicityThe opening of the trial generated considerable publicity.maximum publicityThroughout the strike, the workers achieved maximum publicity for their demands.unwelcome publicityTheir relationship had attracted unwelcome publicity.verbsget publicity (also receive publicity)Climate change is getting a lot of publicity.Such studies have received a lot of publicity.attract publicityTwo recommendations in the report have attracted publicity.gain publicityAppearing on a chat show means you gain publicity.generate publicityThe publication of the book generated an enormous amount of publicity.give publicity to somethingMuch publicity was given to their allegations in the British press.avoid publicityThey wanted to settle the matter quietly in order to avoid bad publicity.shun publicityHe lives quietly in Acton with his wife and two sons and shuns publicity.seek publicityHe sought neither reward nor publicity for his work.phrasesthe glare of publicity (=a lot of publicity, which can make you feel uncomfortable)He carried on his life in the full glare of publicity.a blaze of publicity (=a lot of publicity)His marriage broke up in a blaze of publicity. Examples from the Corpus
publicity• This generates atmosphere and publicity if you are looking for it.• He and his family asked the Foreign Office not to give the case any detailed publicity, for fear of jeopardising his chances.• Administrative procedures must be tightened up, and effective publicity should emphasise prompt and vigorous action in the courts.• Reich has generated a lot of good publicity for the Clinton administration.• The band appeared on Larry King's show, which was good publicity for their US tour.• Afterwards, the loss of sense of colleagues, disloyal competence and inappropriate publicity would follow.• When he made a speech in San Francisco that received local publicity but none back East, he fired ScanIon.• The show's organizers spent over $500,000 on publicity alone.• Such premature publicity could make her positively obstructive instead of merely difficult.• Who did you get to do the publicity for the show?• With publicity over gay marriages, the debate over homosexuality and the Bible once again fills radio talk-show airwaves.bad/good/unwelcome etc publicity• I told him the best way to control any bad publicity was for me to handle all the stories.• Apparently there is such a thing as bad publicity.• It made no sense for him to be engineering bad publicity.• Embarrassed bank officials agreed not to call in police rather than lose the entire haul and face bad publicity.• Reich has generated a lot of good publicity for the Clinton administration.• One reason commercial diet companies are having problems is that they received a lot of bad publicity in the early nineties.• When that received bad publicity, he promoted the Texas Guinan fat reducer.• Much of the bad publicity came directly from the philistinism of the tabloid press.publicity stunt• Unionist politicians accused him of naivety and dismissed the truce as a publicity stunt.• It could be a publicity stunt gone wrong.• It's a publicity stunt to gain sympathy.• Now that times are tougher, such costly publicity stunts are harder to justify.• At his most impressionable, Nicholas allowed himself to be talked into publicity stunts that horribly backfired.• A statement from the heart or a mere publicity stunt?• He overrode negative reviews with publicity stunts.From Longman Business Dictionarypublicitypub‧lic‧i‧ty /pʌˈblɪsəti/ noun [uncountable]1the attention that someone or something gets from newspapers, television etcThe case has received massive publicity.Sales of the drug are falling due to adverse (=negative) publicity about side-effects.2MARKETINGthe business activity of making sure that people know about a new product, film etcThe company plans a major publicity campaign (=a series of events, advertisements etc designed to give something publicity) for the new technology. 