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Notorious vs Arrant - What's the difference?

notorious | arrant |

As adjectives the difference between notorious and arrant

is that notorious is widely known, especially for something bad; infamous while arrant is utter; complete.

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

    Related terms

    * notoriety * notoriousness

    arrant

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (obsolete)

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Utter; complete.
    • arrant nonsense!'' Thomas Bennet, A Brief History of the Joint Use of Recompos'd Set Forms of Prayer...to wich is annexed a Discourse of the Gost of Prayer], p. 187
  • * circa 1600 , (William Shakespeare), (Hamlet) , scene 1:
    • We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us.

    Usage notes

    Particularly used in the phrase “arrant' knaves”, quoting ''Hamlet,'' and “' arrant nonsense”.Safire, 2006, considers “arrant nonsense” to be “wedded words”, a form of a fixed phrase. Some dictionaries consider arrant simply an alternative form of errant, but in usage they have long since split. The word has long been considered archaic, may be confused with errant, and is used primarily in , on which basis some recommend against using it.

    References

    * “ arrant/errant”, Common Errors in English Usage, Paul Brians * On Language: Arrant Nonsense, (William Safire), January 22, 2006, (New York Times) * Merriam–Webster’s dictionary of English usage, 1995, “errant, arrant”, pp. 406–407