NOTORIOUS


Meaning of NOTORIOUS in English

(ˈ)nō|tōrēəs, nə|-, -ȯr- adjective

Etymology: Medieval Latin notorius, irregular from Late Latin notorium information, indictment, from neuter of (assumed) Late Latin notorius, adjective, making known, from Latin notus (past participle of noscere to come to know) + -orius -ory — more at know

1.

a.

(1) : being or constituting something commonly known : well known

iron is a notorious conductor of heat — Lewis Mumford

the notorious mass-energy relation — P.W.Bridgman

the possession must be open and notorious — C.S.Lobingier

contradicted by multiple and notorious documentation — G.G.Coulton

in mathematics it is notorious that we start from absurdities to reach a realm of law — Havelock Ellis

(2) : well known or celebrated for a particular quality or trait

the tapeworms are notorious in this respect — W.H.Dowdeswell

it is notorious for its ability to dive instantly — Ralph Hoffmann

novelists are notorious for their howlers — V.S.Pritchett

notorious as a sane level-headed man — Arnold Bennett

b.

(1) : widely and unfavorably known as an individual of a specified kind or class

a notorious chiseler

a notorious gangster

a notorious gambler

this bird is a notorious destroyer of poultry

(2) : widely and unfavorably known or discussed for something reprehensible or scandalous or for some negative quality or trait

an area notorious for soot, smog, and dust — Pliotron

this scandal made the little town notorious — American Guide Series: Michigan

his front was a notorious law firm — George Carter

the most notorious of Confederate prisons — W.B.Hesseltine

2. obsolete : conspicuous , evident , manifest

• no·to·ri·ous·ly adverb

• no·to·ri·ous·ness noun -es

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.