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.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of notoriety
1585–95; < Medieval Latin nōtōrietās, equivalent to nōtōri ( us ) notorious + -etās, variant (after -i- ) of -ity
Explanation
Notoriety is fame you get from doing something bad or being part of a misfortune or scandal. Just remember: Notoriety's not al-righty. Charles Manson earned notoriety for his grisly crimes. In our celebrity culture, it's hard not to think that seizing your 15 minutes of fame is worth the shame of earning it through stupidity, scandal, or evil. (See: people's motives for going on reality television.) We ordinary mortals can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that most people who become notorious fade from the public mind quickly.
Vocabulary lists containing notoriety
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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.
See Examples For:
He senses the world changing in real time and doesn’t want to get left behind, lest his reporting and notoriety succumb to oblivion.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
The duo gained further notoriety with hits “Can’t Hold Us” and same-sex marriage anthem “Same Love.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
But that hasn’t stopped him from using his notoriety to sell merch and pump his $CHUD scamcoin while winking to his online flock.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
In fact, too much wealth or notoriety has become a deterrent, as wealthy new applicants arriving in Florida are learning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I had traded away my access to the Archives in exchange for a little notoriety.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
And perhaps the author of the Potiphar Papers is in his way quite as characteristic of New York as any of the more self-seeking notorieties who din into our ears the catalogue of their merits.
From Americanisms and Briticisms with other essays on other isms by Brander Matthews
Few of our notorieties could be trusted to think out any economic or social problem thoroughly and efficiently.
From The National Being Some Thoughts on an Irish Polity by George William Russell
This is a season in which so many notorieties come through that I have dreaded being away.
From Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. I by Edmund Downey
"The little miserable notorieties of a fishing-village—" "Coleraine, my Lord,—Coleraine," cried Dempsey.
From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) by Charles James Lever
America has shaken down more eminencies into notorieties than any other country in the world—it is a severe and terrible ordeal for great foreigners.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2, August, 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
