notorious

CEFRB2

/nə(ʊ)ˈtɔː.ɹɪ.əs/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Famous for something bad or unpleasant.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Senses with a favourable or neutral connotation., Generally or widely known; of common knowledge; famous or well-known.

Examples

  • Ms. Eichler had a notorious reputation for being austere to her students.

  • The notorious rebel was ultimately captured and confined to jail.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /nəˈtɔ.ɹi.əs/
  • /noʊ-/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Senses with an unfavourable connotation.

  2. Of a person or entity: generally or widely known for something negative; infamous.

  3. Of an act, situation, etc.: blameworthy in an obvious and offensive way; blatant, flagrant.

More examples

In context

  • You notorious ſtinkardly bearevvard, do's my breath ſmell?

  • Such Men theſe had, to Miſchiefe vvholly bent, / In Villanie, notorious for their skill, / Diſhoneſt, deſp'rate, mercileſſe, and rude, / That dar'd into Damnation to intrude.

  • Lett him [God] notorious make, / That in good part he did thy offrings take.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank thief was known for stealing from every house in the town.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Late Middle English notoryous, from Medieval Latin nōtōrius (“evident, known; famous, well-known; infamous”), from Latin nōtus (“known, recognized; familiar, widely known; famous, well-known; infamous”) + -tōrius (suffix forming adjectives). Nōtus is the perfect passive participle of nōscō (“to become acquainted with or learn about (something); (rare) to be familiar with, recognize”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know; to recognize”). cognates * Catalan notori (“well-known”) * Middle French notoire (Anglo-Norman notoire, notoir, notore, notorie, modern French notoire (“notorious; well-known”)) * Italian notorio (“notorious; well-known”) * Portuguese notorjo (obsolet...