- well-known for some bad or unfavourable quality, deed, etc; infamous
- rare generally known or widely acknowledged
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
no•to•ri•ous /noʊˈtɔriəs, nə-/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- widely known esp. for something unfavorable:a notorious thief.
no•to•ri•ous
(nō tôr′ē əs, -tōr′-, nə-),USA pronunciation adj.
no•to′ri•ous•ly, adv.
no•to′ri•ous•ness, n.
- widely and unfavorably known:a notorious gambler.
- publicly or generally known, as for a particular trait:a newspaper that is notorious for its sensationalism.
- Medieval Latin nōtōrius evident, equivalent. to nō(scere) to get to know (see notify) + -tōrius -tory1
- 1540–50
no•to′ri•ous•ness, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
notorious /nəʊˈtɔːrɪəs/ adj
'notorious' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Amin
- arrant
- billingsgate
- Biscay
- Blackheath
- Cape Horn
- common
- crying
- Gomorrah
- Great Australian Bight
- Heliogabalus
- infamous
- legendary
- Lilith
- McCarthy
- Marcos
- Messalina
- Pentland Firth
- public
- public enemy
- reputation
- Sixtus IV
- Sodom
- Sybaris
- Barbary Coast
- deceit
- defend
- egregious
- evasion
- famous
- flagrant
- Gestapo
- hand
- hedonism
- Hell's Kitchen
- Limehouse
- loose
- notoriety
- party
- Tunis
- world-class
- Sade
- Sturmabteilung