What does notorious mean?

Definitions for notorious
noʊˈtɔr i əs, -ˈtoʊr-, nə-no·to·ri·ous

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word notorious.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. ill-famed, infamous, notoriousadjective

    known widely and usually unfavorably

    "a notorious gangster"; "the tenderloin district was notorious for vice"; "the infamous Benedict Arnold";

Wiktionary

  1. notoriousadjective

    Widely known, especially for something bad; infamous.

  2. Etymology: First attested 1548, from notorius, from notus, perfect passive participle of nosco. Negative sense appeared in seventeenth century.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. NOTORIOUSadjective

    Publickly known; evident to the world; apparent; not hidden. It is commonly used of things known to their disadvantage; whence by those who do not know the true signification of the word, an atrocious crime is called a notorious crime, whether publick or secret.

    Etymology: notorius, Lat. notoire, Fr.

    What need you make such ado in cloaking a matter too notorious. John Whitgift.

    The goodness of your intercepted packets
    You writ to the pope against the king; your goodness,
    Since you provoke me, shall be most notorious. William Shakespeare.

    I shall have law in Ephesus,
    To your notorious shame. William Shakespeare, Com. Err.

    In the time of king Edward III. the impediments of the conquest of Ireland are notorious. Davies.

    What notorious vice is there that doth not blemish a man’s reputation? John Tillotson.

    The inhabitants of Naples have been always very notorious for leading a life of laziness and pleasure, which arises partly out of the plenty of their country, and partly out of the temper of their climate. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

    The bishops have procured some small advancement of rents; although it be notorious that they do not receive the third penny of the real value. Jonathan Swift, Miscell.

Wikipedia

  1. Notorious

    Notorious is the fourteenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran. It was released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986. "Notorious" was the first single issued from Duran Duran's fourth album Notorious (1986), and the first released by Duran Duran as a 3-piece band after the departure of Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor. It was a commercial success worldwide, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, behind "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles, and was a success in various other countries.

ChatGPT

  1. notorious

    Notorious can be defined as being well-known, especially for something negative or undesirable. It typically describes a person, place, or thing that has gained a reputation for being notorious due to their involvement in criminal activities, scandals, or controversial behavior.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Notoriousadjective

    generally known and talked of by the public; universally believed to be true; manifest to the world; evident; -- usually in an unfavorable sense; as, a notorious thief; a notorious crime or vice

Wikidata

  1. Notorious

    Notorious is a 1946 American thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation. It was shot in late 1945 and early 1946, and was released by RKO in August 1946. Notorious marks a watershed for Hitchcock artistically, and represents a heightened thematic maturity. His biographer, Donald Spoto, writes that "Notorious is in fact Alfred Hitchcock's first attempt—at the age of forty-six—to bring his talents to the creation of a serious love story, and its story of two men in love with Ingrid Bergman could only have been made at this stage of his life." The film is known for two scenes in particular. In one of his most famous shots, Hitchcock starts wide and high on a second floor balcony overlooking the great hall of a grand mansion. Slowly he tracks down and in on Ingrid Bergman, finally ending with a tight close-up of a key tucked in her hand. Hitchcock also devised "a celebrated scene" that circumvented the Production Code's ban on kisses longer than three seconds—by having his actors disengage every three seconds, murmur and nuzzle each other, then start right back up again. The two-and-a-half minute osculation is "perhaps his most intimate and erotic kiss".

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Notorious

    no-tō′ri-us, adj. publicly known (now used in a bad sense): infamous.—n. Notorī′ety, state of being notorious: publicity: public exposure.—adv. Notō′riously.—n. Notō′riousness. [Low L. notoriusnotāre, -ātum, to mark—noscĕre.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of notorious in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of notorious in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of notorious in a Sentence

  1. Mike Pompeo:

    I will make special note of the designation for the first time of Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, who with the support of her husband and members of her Akhras family has become one of Syria's most notorious war profiteers.

  2. Casey Michel:

    It is just absolutely wild how one of the most notorious oligarchs to emerge from Russia was able to obtain a seat on the actual board of one of the most prestigious universities in the United States of America.

  3. Sajjan Gohel:

    It created more speculation in the media, in some ways, the nom de guerre of Jihadi John gave this individual a form of notorious celebrity.

  4. Art Caplan:

    Giving out Ambien or Provigil sleep aids 'like candy' as alleged is still dangerous and irresponsible because these drugs have notorious side effects, you really don't want to be cavalier about it. These drugs are prescription for a reason -- not the same as an over-the-counter drug.

  5. Sajjan Gohel:

    The problem was that it created more speculation in the media. In some ways, the 'nom de guerre' of Jihadi John gave this individual a form of notorious celebrity.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for notorious

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"notorious." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 6 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/notorious>.

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    (of especially persons) lacking sense or understanding or judgment
    A equivalent
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