Skip to main content
well-known

well-known

253 1.0
Familiar to many people and often talked about
  • adjective
  • /ˌwɛlˈnoʊn/
translation icon : conocido
  • There are many well-known landmarks in Paris that attract tourists every year.
  • a well-known example
  • a well-known writer
  • a well-known scholar

She was a very well known pro-choice activist.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Paul Poiret is most well known for his Orient inspired works.

  • The health consequences are well known to social workers and make our work more complex.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Often they are well liked, well known and supported by many.

  • But that ended up being one of my most well known successful movies.

  • And I think that is well known to people right across Europe.

  • There are two well known theories of this.

  • Where people know me, I'm in fact very well known.

  • One of these here is a very well known artist called Escher.

  • There were a lot of well known people who didn't stay here.

  • Recently, I was on a panel at a writing conference with some well-known writers who were also teachers.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

famous
vswell-known
1.0

Many people know them for something good or important

is general recognition by many without high public fame
familiar
vswell-known
793 1.0

Well known because you have seen or experienced it before

is broad public awareness rather than private repeated experience
prominent
vswell-known
353 3.9

Easy to see or remember because it stands out

is common public awareness without necessarily standing out
legendary
vswell-known
246 4.2

Very famous and admired, like a hero from old stories

is ordinary public recognition rather than mythic admiration
iconic
vswell-known
133 4.4

Very well known and seen as a symbol of something

is general public familiarity and not necessarily symbolic
famed
vswell-known
70 3.5

Well known and respected by many people

is common public awareness rather than celebrated reputation
renowned
vswell-known
69 4.1

Well known and respected for being very good

is general recognition without the added high regard
on the map
vswell-known
31 4.4

In a way that makes a person or place known and important

is general public familiarity rather than marked importance
known
vswell-known
2 1.0

Familiar to many people and easy to identify

is general public recognition rather than special fame
long-familiar
vswell-known
1 4.2

Known for a long time and easy to recognize

is public familiarity that does not require long duration
noted
vswell-known
  • Formal
3.3

Well known and admired for a particular skill or quality

is wider public awareness not limited to one praised quality
recognized
vswell-known
  • Formal
3.5

Known and officially accepted as important or respected

is general public recognition without formal acceptance
far-famed
vswell-known
6.5

Known and admired by many people far away

is simple public familiarity rather than wide admiration

Antonyms

629 2.3

Not known or named, often with no name given

84 7.0

Not well known or famous

How Known

renowned
69 4.1
famous
1.0
well-known
253 1.0
known
2 1.0
little-known
34 7.3
unknown
629 2.3

Surface Forms

well-known positive
better-known comparative
best-known superlative

Morphology

well-known = known (transparent) = well + known

The adjective is a straightforward adverb + adjective compound meaning widely or very known; learners can derive the meaning from its parts. [Postprocessing: moved 'well' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Well-known comes from the parts well ('very' or 'thoroughly') and known (from 'to know'), so it describes a person or thing that many people know or recognize.