notorious
no·tor·i·ous/nəˈtɔ.ɹi.əs/adjective
notorious is spelled N-O-T-O-R-I-O-U-S: 9 letters and 4 syllables (no·tor·i·ous). It appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, notorious means “Of a person or entity: generally or widely known for something negative; infamous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in notorious?
| Letters | 9: N-O-T-O-R-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: no·tor·i·ous |
| In writing | 6.8 times per million words; the 9,165th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is notorious?
Notorious appears 6.8 times per million words in written English, the 9,165th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce notorious?
- UK /nə(ʊ)ˈtɔː.ɹɪ.əs/
- US /nəˈtɔ.ɹi.əs/
- US /noʊ-/
Notorious has 4 syllables, split no·tor·i·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-notorious.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-notorious.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with notorious?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as notorious from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹiəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of notorious
- more notorious comparative
- most notorious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does notorious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a person or entity: generally or widely known for something negative; infamous.
- 2
Of an act, situation, etc.: blameworthy in an obvious and offensive way; blatant, flagrant.
- 3
Generally or widely known; of common knowledge; famous or well-known.
- 4
obsoleteClear, evident, obvious.
- 5
obsoleteGenerally or widely knowable.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteSynonym of notoriously.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Notorious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | notorisch, berüchtigt |
| Portuguese | notório, famigerado |
| Spanish | notorio, afamado, de mala fama , prócer |
| French | notoire |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does notorious come from?
From Late Middle English notoryous, from Medieval Latin nōtōrius (“evident, known; famous, well-known; infamous”), from Latin nōtus (“known, recognized; familiar, widely known; famous, well-known; infamous”) + -tōrius (suffix forming adjectives). Nōtus is the perfect passive participle of nōscō (“to become acquainted with or learn about (something); (rare) to be familiar with, recognize”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know; to recognize”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).