notoriety

noun

ˌnō-tə-ˈrī-ə-tē How to pronounce notoriety (audio)
Definition of notorietynext
1
as in celebrity
a person who is widely known and usually much talked about a television show featuring a rogues' gallery of notorieties from 20 years of overhyped scandals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fame
the fact or state of being known to the public a lawyer of notoriety for the huge awards he's won in medical malpractice cases

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of notoriety While a snafu at the 2016 Oscars saw Moonlight achieve a very different kind of notoriety, the film remains widely regarded as the year’s indisputable best picture. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 June 2026 Kiros first gained online notoriety for being fired by her law firm in New York after writing a letter sharply critical of Israel in November 2023. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 1 July 2026 But as Knoxville's movie career took off in the wake of his Jackass notoriety — and Jonze (Being John Malkovich) became a critical darling — the crew brought their small-screen hijinks to the big screen. — Sezin Devi Koehler, Entertainment Weekly, 26 June 2026 In the late 1970s, Brass entered a new phase and gained fresh notoriety with cult historical-erotic films Salon Kitty (1976) and Caligula (1979) as well as The Key (1983), a free adaptation of a novel by Tanizaki Jun’ichirō. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for notoriety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for notoriety
  1. celebrity
  2. fame
  3. star
  4. renown
  5. personality
  6. reputation
Noun
  • At a time when drama has come to depend on celebrity leads and commercial hype, this bounty of understated excellence is heartening.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 July 2026
Definition of celebrity
Noun
  • Motherhood, sexuality, family, fame… every band member forges her own path in refreshingly disparate ways rarely shown on television.
    — Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 2 July 2026
  • Donors include oil executive Harold Hamm, the Waltons of Walmart fame, Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, a hedge fund, and Burgum himself.
    — Jack Dura, Fortune, 2 July 2026
Definition of fame
Noun
  • The garment, rooted in West Asian culture, has been embraced with open arms by resortwear for decades, especially once it was brought into Western fashion in the 1950s by stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy.
    — Katherine J Igoe, InStyle, 2 July 2026
  • All three games of series were sellouts — a testament to the fandom of the two-time defending World Series champions and the team’s international baseball star, Ohtani.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of star
Noun
  • Branded as Princeton research, the paper’s influence continued to expand, boosting the university program’s renown and Pacala and Socolow’s stature.
    — Maddie Stone, ProPublica, 25 June 2026
  • The first Raffles opened in Singapore in 1887, and the chain has gained worldwide renown for luxurious service with locations around the world.
    — Tanya Edwards, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 June 2026
Definition of renown
Noun
  • The last decade has been an absolute whirlwind for the 38-year-old film school graduate, who could have never dreamed of the success he’s enjoyed as a YouTube personality with over 10 million subscribers (and counting).
    — Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • The result is a look that's fashion-forward and personality-filled, never overdone.
    — Amanda Le, InStyle, 2 July 2026
Definition of personality
Noun
  • Shenzhen already has a reputation as one of China's major technology hubs.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Orange cats have a reputation for silly behavior and outlandish antics, but the science doesn't back that up.
    — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of reputation

Browse Nearby Words

notorieties
notoriety
notorious
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Notoriety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notoriety. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on notoriety

Nglish: Translation of notoriety for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All