notorious

The word “notorious” means famous or well known for something bad. In plain terms, well known, almost always for something bad or scandalous.

“Notorious” is pronounced nuh-TAW-rih-uhs (/nəˈtɔ.ɹi.əs/ in IPA).

Here is “notorious” used in a sentence: “The city was notorious for its high crime rate.”

Words with a similar meaning to “notorious” include disreputable, ill-famed, infamous, nefarious, niddering and nidering.

The opposite of “notorious” — its antonyms — are unnotorious, unfamous, acclaimed, distinguished and celebrated.

“Notorious” is an adjective.

The word “notorious” comes from Medieval Latin. From Medieval Latin notorius ("well-known, evident"), from Latin notus ("known"), the perfect participle of noscere ("to become acquainted with").

“Notorious” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Notorious means famous or well known specifically for something bad, while famous is neutral and can apply to positive, negative, or unremarkable reasons for recognition. Calling someone notorious implies a negative reputation rather than simple public recognition.

Notorious and infamous are close synonyms, both describing someone or something widely known for bad reasons, and they are often used interchangeably. Notorious can occasionally be used more neutrally to mean widely and clearly known, though this use is less common.

Notorious is occasionally used to mean simply widely and clearly known or obvious, a more neutral sense, but this use is far less common than its primary meaning of being famous for something bad. In most everyday use, calling something notorious carries a negative connotation.