infamy

noun in·fa·my \ ˈin-fə-mē \

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of infamy

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

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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 of infamy from the Web

The game ticking into the final minute before the overtime interval, Kempes then stole his moment in sporting infamy.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 10 Weeks to Go - When Hosts Argentina Edged the Netherlands In a Classic Final," 14 Apr. 2018
From celebrities Matt Lauer, Kevin Spacey and Charlie Rose to political powerhouses Trent Franks, Roy Moore and President Trump, the list of infamy grows daily.

— kareem abdul-jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter, "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: My Bill Cosby Friendship and When Bad People Make Good Art," 9 Apr. 2018
The voice belonged to Ridley Scott, the British director of Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator fame (and Exodus: Gods and Kings infamy).

— gogo lidz, Newsweek, "NASA and 'The Martian': It Was Written in the Stars," 20 Sep. 2015
Woods is on the cusp of liberating himself from years of injuries, yips and tabloid infamy.

— david whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Tiger Woods 2.0 deserves respect, not adoration," 3 Apr. 2018
Tanya Wildt/Detroit Free Press Karen Spranger is getting her 15 minutes of national fame — or perhaps more accurately, infamy.

— steven pepple, Detroit Free Press, "Newsweek’s take on 'offbeat’ Karen Spranger’s reign as Macomb County clerk," 26 Mar. 2018
The reward is infamy and get this, the god is the media who rewards them with attention.

— Fox News, "Gutfeld: The mistake Joe is making in his 2020 audition," 25 Mar. 2018
But the diving horse act - that is, a horse diving off the pier into the ocean - is what the Steel Pier's fame, or infamy, rested upon.

— jason wilson, chicagotribune.com, "What I learned about America's future from visiting Trump resorts around the world," 14 Mar. 2018
This infamy was a result not of experience, but one of birth.

— sonya vatomsky, Smithsonian, "The Executioners Who Inherited Their Jobs," 26 Jan. 2018

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

First Known Use of infamy

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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infamy Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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.