Usage
What does notoriety mean? Notoriety is the state or quality of being famous or well-known, especially for a negative reason.If often means the state or quality of being notorious, which is especially used to describe people who are widely known and viewed unfavorably for their actions, such as notorious criminals. It can also be applied to events, as in a notorious scandal.This sense of notorious is often used interchangeably with the word infamous. Strictly speaking, infamous means having, deserving, or resulting in a bad or evil reputation, while notorious usually implies that a person is both famous and disliked. Still, they usually mean just about the same thing. A noun form of infamous, infamy, is often used interchangeably with notoriety.Notorious can also mean known for a particular trait or action, not necessarily a bad one, as in My aunt is notorious for arriving late to family events. Notoriety can refer to the state of being known in this way. In some cases, it can mean much the same thing as fame, and in fact the two words are often used side by side, as in It’s unbelievable what some people will do for fame and notoriety. Notoriety is often discussed as being earned, gained, or achieved, as in The company gained notoriety for its irreverent marketing campaigns. Example: He gained notoriety for his role in the scandal, and his reputation has never recovered.
Etymology
Origin of notoriety
1585–95; < Medieval Latin nōtōrietās, equivalent to nōtōri ( us ) notorious + -etās, variant (after -i- ) of -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ferreira initially gained notoriety as an online personality with a popular Tumblr account before transitioning to modeling and then acting, most notably in the first two seasons of the series “Euphoria.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
“I think part of the motivation has to do with, he now has an Instagram site with a lot of followers. I think it’s a notoriety thing,” said Ed.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
And yet in his brief run Pitino has restored a lot of the old Louie Carnesecca noisy-sweater notoriety.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
In the years since Black achieved notoriety, a single unknown artist is unlikely to reach universal derision in 2026 — but internet pile-ons are just as popular as they’ve always been.
From Salon • Feb. 16, 2026
The paper that first brought Dr. Gazzaley his notoriety, published in 2005, showed the key parts of the brain circuitry involved when a person ignores something, or tries to ignore something.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
