ill fame
1
8.1
- noun
:
mala fama
- The city implemented strict laws to shut down houses of ill fame and improve public safety.
- house of ill fame
Examples
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Seriously, I don't see what's so terrible about Colonel Mustard visiting a house of ill fame.
-
It's a house of ill fame.
-
This is a house of ill fame, and I'm a fallen flower.
-
They were often connected with prostitution: an 1876 survey in Philadelphia found that nearly half of the drinking establishments in the city had formal or informal connections with "houses of ill fame."
Academic text (2008) -
Many residents in the area believe that the old mansion is a place of ill fame due to its notorious history.
-
After the scandal, he found himself living in a neighborhood known for its ill fame and questionable reputation.
Synonyms
42
6.8
Being well known for something bad or wrong
21
7.6
Being known for something very bad or shameful
3
7.5
A condition where people think badly of someone
Antonyms
How Notorious
Surface Forms
Morphology
ill + fame
The adjective 'ill' (bad, harmful) straightforwardly modifies 'fame' (being widely known), so a learner who knows both words can infer that 'ill fame' means notoriety or a bad reputation. This is a compositional adjective+noun pattern common across languages, making the phrase directly interpretable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Ill fame comes from old use of the words ill, meaning 'bad', and fame, meaning 'to be known'. Picture a person or place whose name spreads with a bad story attached, and you have the image behind ill fame, so it means 'to be widely known for something bad'.