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Infamous vs Notorious - What's the difference?

infamous | notorious |

Notorious is a synonym of infamous.



As adjectives the difference between infamous and notorious

is that infamous is having a bad reputation, disreputable; of bad report; notoriously vile; detestable; widely known, especially for something bad while notorious is widely known, especially for something bad; infamous.

infamous

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • having a bad reputation, disreputable; of bad report; notoriously vile; detestable; widely known, especially for something bad
  • He was an infamous traitor.
    He was an infamous perjurer.
  • causing infamy; disgraceful
  • This infamous deed tarnishes all involved.
  • (archaic) in England / Great Britain, a judicial punishment which deprived the infamous person of certain rights; this included a prohibition against holding public office, exercising the franchise, receiving a public pension, serving on a jury, or giving testimony in a court of law.
  • Derived terms

    * infamously * infamousness * infamy

    References

    * Oxford English Dictionary

    notorious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Widely known, especially for something bad; infamous.
  • * 1920 , "This is the last straw. In your infatuation for this man — a man who is notorious for his excesses, a man your father would not have allowed to so much as mention your name — you have reflected the demi-monde]] rather than the circles in which you have presumably grown up." — by [[w:F. Scott Fitzgerald, F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • * 1999', ''"The Hempshocks' sheep were '''notoriously the finest for miles around: shaggy-coated and intelligent (for sheep), with curling horns and sharp hooves."'' — Neil Gaiman, ''Stardust , pg. 30 (2001 Perennial edition)
  • Synonyms

    * ill-famed * infamous