notoriety
noun
no·to·ri·e·ty
ˌnō-tə-ˈrī-ə-tē 
plural notorieties
1
: the quality or state of being notorious
… the city's notoriety for corrupt and incompetent government.—
R. E. Merriam
R. E. Merriam2
: a notorious person
… the errors of notorieties and crowned heads …—James Joyce
James JoyceExamples of notoriety in a Sentence
He achieved instant fame and notoriety with the release of his film.
She gained notoriety when nude photographs of her appeared in a magazine.
His comment about the President has given him a notoriety that he enjoys very much.
Recent Examples on the Web
He was suspected as part of the teenage crew that gained notoriety in January 2025 for breaking into a pair of R trains and moving them at speeds up to 30 mph along a section of express track in Brooklyn.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Kerr, whose father Malcolm was assassinated as president of American University in Beirut, used his name and notoriety as a coach to promote the film.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
That modest notoriety, combined with the macabre nature of the deed and its unsolved status for decades, lured the filmmaker into an extended investigation — the end result being this feature.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
One passage depicts the Bonnie-and-Clyde-like notoriety of Frank and the Bride, leading ordinary women to adopt her wild hairdo and goth makeup (including what are evidently meant to be burns on her mouth and tongue from all that electricity).
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
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Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Kerr, whose father Malcolm was assassinated as president of American University in Beirut, used his name and notoriety as a coach to promote the film.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
That modest notoriety, combined with the macabre nature of the deed and its unsolved status for decades, lured the filmmaker into an extended investigation — the end result being this feature.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
One passage depicts the Bonnie-and-Clyde-like notoriety of Frank and the Bride, leading ordinary women to adopt her wild hairdo and goth makeup (including what are evidently meant to be burns on her mouth and tongue from all that electricity).
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for notoriety
Cite this Entry
“Notoriety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notoriety. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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