infamous

adjective in·fa·mous \ ˈin-fə-məs \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: infamous in a Sentence

Definition of infamous

1 : having a reputation of the worst kind : notoriously evil

an infamous traitor

2 : causing or bringing infamy : disgraceful

an infamous crime

3 : convicted of an offense bringing infamy

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infamously

adverb

See infamous defined for English-language learners

See infamous defined for kids

Examples of infamous in a Sentence

The most infamous of South America's poisonous snakes are the ringed coral snake and the pit viper. —Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005
Clemens is famous, or maybe infamous, for his brushback pitches and in particular for his penchant for "doubling up," throwing two brushbacks in a row. —Pat Jordan, New York Times Magazine, 4 Mar. 2001
Instead we invoke the infamous dark matter, also known to make up most of the mass of other galaxies (both spiral and elliptical), clusters of galaxies, and the universe. What is it? Your guess may not be quite as good as mine, but almost. —Virginia Trimble et al., Sky & Telescope, January 1995
a city infamous for poverty and crime
He committed an infamous crime.

Recent Examples of infamous from the Web

There are several infamous recent examples of this new convergence of memedom and state propaganda.

— an xiao mina, The Atlantic, "That Merkel Photo Is More Like a Meme Than a Renaissance Painting," 11 June 2018
The crew works in new digs at everyone from infamous attorney Michael Cohen to John DiMaggio (since the actor voicing Bender couldn’t attend; LaMarche can do a pretty spot-on impression, though).

— nathan mattise, Ars Technica, "A reunion with Futurama, because only one show used climactic math theorems," 10 June 2018
Regulators unfamiliar with the approach are sometimes skeptical, and some landowners and government agencies are loath to aid a rodent infamous for felling valuable trees, flooding property, and clogging road culverts.

— ben goldfarb, Science | AAAS, "Beaver dams without beavers? Artificial logjams are a popular but controversial restoration tool," 7 June 2018
Kim Kardashian's already infamous White House trip to speak to Jared Kushner and Donald Trump about prison reform ended with a visit to Ivanka Trump's house for dinner.

— amy mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kim Kardashian Had Dinner With Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner After Her White House Visit," 31 May 2018
The website called the cove's Labor Day weekend party one of the most infamous in the country.

— max londberg, kansascity, "'Jersey Shore' creators announce Ozarks reality show at cove known for 'public sex acts'," 30 May 2018
Stephanie Shepherd of Forfar, Scotland decided to recreate the infamous floral cover of Shawn Mendes:The Album, and used her face as the palette.

— lauren rearick, Teen Vogue, "Someone Recreated the Cover of Shawn Mendes: The Album Using Makeup," 28 May 2018
Each hourlong episode of It Happened Live will take a look at infamous flubs including the best picture Oscar mix-up and Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl.

— thr staff, The Hollywood Reporter, "What Matters in Hollywood Today," 24 May 2018
This time, though, Stewart’s barefoot rule may have been in protest of Cannes’s infamous high heels-only rule.

— hilary weaver, Vanities, "Kristen Stewart Is Still a Red Carpet Rebel at Cannes," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'infamous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of infamous

Middle English, from Latin infamis, from in- + fama fame

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

infamous Synonyms

INFAMOUS Defined for English Language Learners

infamous

adjective

Definition of infamous for English Language Learners

: well-known for being bad : known for evil acts or crimes
: causing people to think you are bad or evil

INFAMOUS Defined for Kids

infamous

adjective in·fa·mous \ ˈin-fə-məs \

Definition of infamous for Students

1 : having an evil reputation

an infamous murderer

2 : ¹evil 1, bad

an infamous crime

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infamously

adverb

Law Dictionary

infamous

adjective in·fa·mous \ ˈin-fə-məs \

legal Definition of infamous

: of, relating to, or being a crime punishable by imprisonment (as a year or more in a penitentiary) that can lead to loss of rights and privileges upon conviction; also : convicted of such a crime