notorious

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notorious

/nə(ʊ)ˈtɔː.ɹɪ.əs/ UK
/nəˈtɔ.ɹi.əs/ Canada, US
/noʊ-/ Canada, US

Rhymes with -ɔːɹiəs

Where it comes from

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 (obsolete), notório (“illustrious; open, public; notorious”)

* Spanish notorio (“apparent, clear, obvious; well-known”)

adjective more notorious · most notorious

Of a person or entity: generally or widely known for something negative; infamous. 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.
Similar: ill-famed, infamous, nithing · Opposite: famous, bait, fabled, famed, famoused, iconic, irrecondite, known, legendary, mere, notable, noted
Of an act, situation, etc.: blameworthy in an obvious and offensive way; blatant, flagrant. Sir, ſir, I ſhall haue Lavv in Epheſus, / To your notorious ſhame, I doubt it not.
Generally or widely known; of common knowledge; famous or well-known. Lett him [God] notorious make, / That in good part he did thy offrings take.
obsolete Clear, evident, obvious. For the elder ſort of them are rough, hard, thinne and leane ſcragges, ſtatuelinges, lothſome to touch and to looke vpon, ſomevvhat long, nothing but skinne and bone, yet very notorious and goodly too ſee to, in regard of their grauity, hoarenes and aunciency.
obsolete Generally or widely knowable. But what hope is there to haue fidelitie well kept amonge us in promises and bargaynes, whan for the breache therof is prouided no punisshement, nor yet notorious rebuke; […]

adverb more notorious · most notorious

obsolete Synonym of notoriously.
Similar: notoriously

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: infamous, ill-famed, disreputable, nefarious, egregious, arrant, despicable, deplorable, flagrant, heinous, vile, bad, ugly, dreaded, blatant, obvious

adjective

Translations

Every language

adj generally or widely known for something negative — see also infamous

Español	notorio, afamado, de mala fama
日本語	悪名高い akumeidakai
中文	臭名昭著 chòumíng zhāozhù, 惡名昭彰 /恶名昭彰 èmíng zhāozhāng
हिन्दी	बदनाम badnām, कुख्यात kukhyāt
Português	notório, famigerado
Deutsch	notorisch, berüchtigt
Italiano	famigerato
Ελληνικά	διαβόητος diavóitos
Русский	преслову́тый preslovútyj, печа́льно изве́стный pečálʹno izvéstnyj, небезызве́стный nebezyzvéstnyj
Tiếng Việt	khét tiếng
العربية	سَيِّئ السُّمْعَة sayyiʔ as-sumʕa

adj generally or widely known; famous or well-known — see also famous, well-known

Español	prócer
Français	notoire

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Cite this

MLA

"notorious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/notorious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

notorious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/notorious

Chicago

"notorious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/notorious.

BibTeX

@misc{notorious_2026,
  title = {notorious},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/notorious},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}