renowned
Americanadjective
adjective
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Etymology
Origin of renowned
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Explanation
Celebrated, gushed over, and even legendary, something that's renowned is really famous. If you not only find a cure for cancer, but you also go on lots of talk shows so everyone knows who you are, then you'll be a renowned scientist. Renown comes from the Anglo-Norman for "re-name," as in repeatedly name, so something renowned is something that people are talking about, or naming, over and over. If you are a huge celebrity, people from your home town might boast, "The renowned Madame X was born here." Something renowned is really good, not just famous. Just because you make the cover of a trashy tabloid magazine doesn't mean you're a renowned actress. But if you win an Oscar, you are.
Vocabulary lists containing renowned
More Positive Words to Describe a Person
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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.
Renowned for its powerful engines, the prestigious sports car manufacturer already sells nearly half of its cars in hybrid versions.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Renowned for its dates and palm-lined streets, the town also lies on the edge of the sprawling Prince Sultan Air Base.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
Renowned photographer Randy and his playwright husband Jack are vacationing on the Oregon coast, but their trip sours.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
Renowned Welsh singer Iris Williams has died at the age of 79.
From BBC • Jul. 11, 2025
Renowned aerodynamicists Eastman Jacobs, John Stack, and John Becker had come to the laboratory as freshly minted junior engineers and were quickly allowed to design and conduct their own experiments.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
