renown

R1E1N1O1W4N1
Canada, US, UK/ɹɪˈnaʊn/

noun

Fame; celebrity; wide recognition.

Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

nounrenown (usually uncountable, plural renowns)

plural renowns

  1. uncountableusuallyFame; celebrity; wide recognition.

    […] one day local fame would become world renown […]

    1985, Lawrence Durrell, chapter 3, in Quinx, New York: Viking, page 63
    4 more examples

    She is a theame of honour and renowne, / A ſpurre to valiant and magnanimous deeds, / Whoſe preſent courage may beate downe our foes, / And fame in time to come canonize us, […]

    c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]

    And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: […]

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 16:2

    […] Nor envy we / Thy great Renown, nor grudge thy Victory; / 'Tis thine, O King, th' Afflicted to redreſs, / And Fame has fill'd the World with thy Succeſs; […]

    1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book I, page 3

    There sleep the mighty dead as in life they slept, warriors and princes of high renown.

    1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
  2. obsoleteuncountableusuallyReports of nobleness or achievements; praise.

    […] She / Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan, / Of whom so often I have heard renown, / But never saw before;

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]
verbrenown (third-person singular simple present renowns, present participle renowning, simple past and past participle renowned)

present singular third person renowns · participle present renowning · participle past renowned · past renowned

  1. transitiveTo make famous.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Frenchrenoun
  2. Englishrenown

From Old French renoun (compare with Modern French renom), equivalent to re- + noun.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek κῦδος, κλέος
  • κῦδος (kûdos)Fame or wide recognition
  • κλέος (kléos)Fame or wide recognition
Arabic شُهْرة
  • شُهْرة (šuhra)Fame or wide recognition
Bulgarian известност, слава
  • известност (izvestnost)Fame or wide recognition
  • слава (slava)Fame or wide recognition
Chinese 名声, 声望
  • 名声 (Míngshēng)Fame or wide recognition
  • 声望 (shēngwàng)Fame or wide recognition
  • 声威 (shēngweī)Fame or wide recognition
Czech renomé
  • renoméFame or wide recognition
Esperanto distingo
  • distingoFame or wide recognition
Finnish maine, kuuluisuus
  • maineFame or wide recognition
  • kuuluisuusFame or wide recognition
French renom, renommée
  • renomFame or wide recognition
  • renomméeFame or wide recognition
German Ansehen, Ruf
  • AnsehenFame or wide recognition
  • RufFame or wide recognition
  • RuhmFame or wide recognition
Greek φήμη, δόξα
  • φήμη (fími)Fame or wide recognition
  • δόξα (dóxa)Fame or wide recognition
Hebrew מוֹנִיטִין
  • מוֹנִיטִין (monitin)Fame or wide recognition
Hindi यश, वैभव
  • यश (yaś)Fame or wide recognition
  • वैभव (vaibhav)Fame or wide recognition
  • कीर्ति (kīrti)Fame or wide recognition
  • प्रसिद्धि (prasiddhi)Fame or wide recognition
  • ख्याति (khyāti)Fame or wide recognition
Hungarian hírnév
  • hírnévFame or wide recognition
Irish clú, alladh
  • clúFame or wide recognition
  • alladhFame or wide recognition
Italian rinomanza, celebrità
  • rinomanzaFame or wide recognition
  • celebritàFame or wide recognition
  • famaFame or wide recognition
Latin fāma, celebritas
  • fāmaFame or wide recognition
  • celebritasFame or wide recognition
Polish renoma
  • renomaFame or wide recognition
Portuguese renome
  • renomeFame or wide recognition
Romanian renume, faimă
  • renumeFame or wide recognition
  • faimăFame or wide recognition
Russian изве́стность
  • изве́стность (izvéstnostʹ)Fame or wide recognition
Scottish Gaelic cliù
  • cliùFame or wide recognition
Spanish renombre, nombradía
  • renombreFame or wide recognition
  • nombradíaFame or wide recognition
  • haoFame or wide recognition
Swedish ryktbarhet, anseende
  • ryktbarhetFame or wide recognition
  • anseendeFame or wide recognition
  • namnkunnighetFame or wide recognition
Tagalog kabalitaan
  • kabalitaanFame or wide recognition
Turkish şan, şöhret
  • şanFame or wide recognition
  • şöhretFame or wide recognition
Ukrainian сла́ва
  • сла́ва (sláva)Fame or wide recognition

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with renown

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

renown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renown

MLA

“renown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renown. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “renown,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renown.

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