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infamous

infamous

168 5.1
Famous for doing something bad or shameful
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪn.fə.məs/
translation icon : infame
  • Mr. Lee's a pretty infamous guy in Hong Kong as well.
  • an infamous incident
  • become infamous
  • now infamous

And the Manhattan Project is infamous for this.

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Examples

  • Ms. Evans was one of the passengers on the infamous cruise from hell.

  • He was quite an infamous pirate.

  • And the Manhattan Project is infamous for this.

  • What is it like being one of the most infamous warlords in the world?

  • And as winter closes in, his army begins the most infamous retreat in history.

  • As primarily a day school, it had little of the infamous despotism of boarding public schools.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Six weeks later, the Guangdamae began its infamous retreat from Moscow.

  • The Sonora Desert is infamous for its harsh conditions and lawlessness.

  • He is infamous for committing notorious crimes that shocked the community.

  • The infamous gangster was arrested after years of evading the police.

Synonyms

notorious
vsinfamous
163 5.6

Famous for something bad

implies stronger shame or wickedness rather than simple bad fame
unfamous
vsinfamous
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Many people know and fear someone for cruel actions

is the modern word used today instead of the older form
ill-famed
vsinfamous
7.8

People know a place or person for bad actions

is used for being shameful or wicked rather than only broad bad reputation

Antonyms

53 4.2

Known to be honest and reliable

1 3.2

Famous and admired for important achievements or qualities

Compounds

A violent fight with guns that is famous for bad reasons

How Notorious

infamous
168 5.1
notorious
163 5.6
disreputable
9 7.1
shameful
89 4.7

Surface Forms

infamous positive
infamously positive

Morphology

infamous = famous (semi-transparent) = in + famous + in

Formed by the negative prefix 'in-' + 'famous', but the meaning is 'well known for bad reasons' rather than simply 'not famous', so learners may be misled.

Etymology

Infamous comes from the prefix in- ('not') and the same root as fame ('reputation' or 'being well known'). So, infamous means being known for something bad, not for praise.