notoriety

N1O1T1O1R1I1E1T1Y4
UK/nəʊ.təˈɹaɪ.ə.ti/US/noʊ.tɚ.aɪ.ə.ti/

noun

An infamous or notorious condition or reputation.

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

nounnotoriety (countable and uncountable, plural notorieties)

plural notorieties

  1. countableuncountableAn infamous or notorious condition or reputation.

    This seems to me to be a reasonable request, and I will try to explain to you what it is that has given me this false notoriety; so please give me your attention.

    1993, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, “Justice and Duty (i): Socrates Speaks at his Trial: the Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), revised edition, London; New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 41
    2 more examples

    [H]e who portrays examples of disinterestedness and intrepidity, confers on virtue the notoriety and homage that are due to it, and rouses in the spectators, the spirit of salutary emulation.

    1799, Charles Brockden Brown, Arthur Mervyn

    I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

    Synonyms: ill fame, infamy, notoriousness

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn infamous or notorious condition or reputation.

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe state of being known for some unfavorable act or quality

Similar
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinnōtōrietās
  2. Middle Frenchnotoriété
  3. Englishnotoriety

Derived from Middle French notoriété, from Medieval Latin nōtōrietās, from nōtōrius, from nōtus (“known”), perfect passive participle of nōscō (“get to know”). By surface analysis, notorious + -ety.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian лоша слава
  • лоша слава (loša slava)condition of being infamous or notorious
Catalan notorietat
  • notorietatcondition of being infamous or notorious
Chinese Mandarin 惡名 /恶名
  • 惡名 /恶名 (èmíng)condition of being infamous or notorious
Czech nechvalná proslulost
  • nechvalná proslulostcondition of being infamous or notorious
Dutch beruchtheid, notoriëteit
  • beruchtheidcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • notoriëteitcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • notoriteitcondition of being infamous or notorious
Estonian kurikuulsus
  • kurikuulsuscondition of being infamous or notorious
Finnish pahamaineisuus
  • pahamaineisuuscondition of being infamous or notorious
French infamie, infâmie
  • infamiecondition of being infamous or notorious
  • infâmiecondition of being infamous or notorious
  • infâmetécondition of being infamous or notorious
German Notorietät, schlechter Ruf
  • Notorietätcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • schlechter Rufcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • traurige Berühmtheitcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • schlechter Leumundcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • übler Leumundcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • übler Rufcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • Berüchtigtseincondition of being infamous or notorious
Māori mōiriiritanga
  • mōiriiritangacondition of being infamous or notorious
Russian дурна́я сла́ва
  • дурна́я сла́ва (durnája sláva)condition of being infamous or notorious
Spanish notoriedad, infamia
  • notoriedadcondition of being infamous or notorious
  • infamiacondition of being infamous or notorious
  • mala famacondition of being infamous or notorious

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with notoriety

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

notoriety. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notoriety

MLA

“notoriety.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notoriety. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “notoriety,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/notoriety.

Source: notoriety on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.