famous

adjective

fa·​mous ˈfā-məs 

1

a

: widely known

a restaurant famous for its French cuisine

b

: honored for achievement

a famous explorer

2

: excellent, first-rate

famous weather for a walk

famousness noun

Synonyms

• big-name
• celebrated
• famed
• noted
• notorious
• prominent
• renowned
• star
• visible
• well-known

Choose the Right Synonym for famous

famous, renowned, celebrated, noted, notorious, distinguished, eminent, illustrious mean known far and wide.

famous implies little more than the fact of being, sometimes briefly, widely and popularly known.

a famous actress

renowned implies more glory and acclamation.

one of the most renowned figures in sports history

celebrated implies notice and attention especially in print.

the most celebrated beauty of her day

noted suggests well-deserved public attention.

the noted mystery writer

notorious frequently adds to famous an implication of questionableness or evil.

a notorious gangster

distinguished implies acknowledged excellence or superiority.

a distinguished scientist who won the Nobel Prize

eminent implies even greater prominence for outstanding quality or character.

the country's most eminent writers

illustrious stresses enduring honor and glory attached to a deed or person.

illustrious war heroes

Examples of famous in a Sentence

a book about some of the most famous people of the last century

the review gushed that the restaurant offered some truly famous Southern-style cooking

Recent Examples on the Web

Khaled and Mustafa were among the ones shot, but Hosam, then famous for his satirical short stories, managed to escape. —Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024

While the home’s new owners are not famous the ex-Jones property sits right next door to the longtime home of reality TV superstar Kendall Jenner. —James McClain, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024

The ad, which dropped on Wednesday, features Johansson struggling to recite lines from Shakespeare, including famous passages from Anthony and Cleopatra and Macbeth. —Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024

In that game and near the end of the contest, Reese threw some of Clark’s famous trash talk back in her face. —Sean Gregory, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024

Emmy Russell is opening up about using American Idol to step out of her famous grandmother’s shadow and finally blaze her own trail in music. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024

Host Nick Offerman brings his usual impish warmth to this Netflix documentary, but the real draw is hearing famous people describe their own journeys (sometimes good, sometimes bad, always memorable) with psychedelic drugs. —Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2024

Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara were practically connected at the hip for 6½ years, the bond between the world’s most famous baseball player and his interpreter so tight that the Dodgers two-way star was rarely, if ever, seen in public without Mizuhara in tow. —Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024

Then there are the famous chip designers, like Nvidia, AMD and Arm. —Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin famosus, from fama fame

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing famous

• world-famous

Kids Definition

famous

adjective

fa·​mous ˈfā-məs 

1

: much talked about : very well-known

famous explorer

2

: excellent

famous weather for a picnic