infamy

noun

in·​fa·​my ˈin-fə-mē 

plural infamies

1

: evil reputation brought about by something grossly criminal, shocking, or brutal

2

a

: an extreme and publicly known criminal or evil act

b

: the state of being infamous

Frequently Asked Questions

Is being infamous always a bad thing?

Infamous has a small range of meanings, and none of them are ones that most people would care to be described with. It may mean "notoriously evil," "disgraceful," or "convicted of an offense bringing infamy" (infamy is "evil reputation brought about by something grossly criminal, shocking, or brutal").

Is infamous the opposite of famous?

Infamous is not the opposite of famous. It does not mean "not famous" or "exceptionally famous." It means "having a reputation of the worst kind." Although the in- prefix often indicates negation or gives a meaning opposite to the word it is attached to, it occasionally will have other meanings, such as "inward" and "thoroughly."

What is the difference between unfamous and infamous?

Although it would appear that both of these words are created by adding a similar prefix to the word famous, they actually have quite different meanings. Infamous means "notoriously evil," whereas unfamous simply means "not famous." Infamous is by far the more commonly-used of the two.

Synonyms

• discredit
• disesteem
• disgrace
• dishonor
• disrepute
• ignominy
• obloquy
• odium
• opprobrium
• reproach
• shame

Choose the Right Synonym for infamy

disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, infamy, ignominy mean the state or condition of suffering loss of esteem and of enduring reproach.

disgrace often implies humiliation and sometimes ostracism.

sent home in disgrace

dishonor emphasizes the loss of honor that one has enjoyed or the loss of self-esteem.

preferred death to life with dishonor

disrepute stresses loss of one's good name or the acquiring of a bad reputation.

a once proud name fallen into disrepute

infamy usually implies notoriety as well as exceeding shame.

a day that lives in infamy

ignominy stresses humiliation.

the ignominy of being arrested

Examples of infamy in a Sentence

He never escaped the infamy his crimes had earned him.

despite her eventual pardons, she could never completely free herself of the infamy of being named a war criminal

Recent Examples on the Web

The Simpson-Montgomery police drama aired 18 years before the notorious 1995 world-watching murder trial, where Simpson, having been accused of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson, his White ex-wife, and her friend Ron Goldman, had suddenly gone beyond TV fame and through the portal of TV infamy. —Wil Haygood, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024

In a painful stroke of irony, the United States would respond in part with a spell of infamy of its own. —Cynthia Teniente-Matson, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

infamy

noun

in·​fa·​my ˈin-fə-mē 

plural infamies

1

: an evil reputation

2

a

: an infamous act

b

: the state of being infamous