notorious

臭名昭著的

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

2026-01-17

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 17, 2026 is: notorious • oh-TOR-ee-us  • adjective Notorious describes people and things that are well-known or famous, especially for something bad or unfavorable. // Their city is notorious for its extremely hot and humid summers. See the entry > Examples: “Given Long Island’s cul-de-sac geography and notorious traffic, proposed bridges and tunnels to Connecticut are bound to get attention on the Island.” — Peter Gill, Newsday, 8 Dec. 2025 Did you know? For those who don’t give a fig about a bad reputation, being notorious for unpopular behavior is no biggie. (Being notorious for topping the Billboard charts? Now that’s a Biggie.) Although notorious (which comes from Latin noscere, “to come to know”) can be a synonym of famous, it’s more often a synonym of infamous, having long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something disreputable. The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 includes one of the first known uses of the unfavorable meaning in print, referring to “notorious synners.” You know what they say: more notorious synners, more problems.
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  • It's the Word of the Day podcast for January 17th.

  • Today's word is Notorious, spelled N-O-T-O-R-I-O-U-S.

  • Notorious is an adjective.

  • It describes people and things that are well known or famous,

  • especially for something bad or unfavorable.

  • Here's the word used in a sentence from Newsday by Peter Gill.

  • Given Long Island's cul-de-sac geography and notorious traffic,

  • proposed bridges and tunnels to Connecticut are bound to get attention on the island.

  • For those who don't give a fig about a bad reputation,

  • being notorious for unpopular behavior is no biggie.

  • Being notorious for topping the Billboard charts, now there's a biggie.

  • Although notorious, which comes from the Latin nuscare,

  • meaning to come to know, can be a synonym of the word famous,

  • it's more often a synonym of infamous,

  • having long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something disreputable.

  • The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 includes one of the first known uses of the unfavorable meaning in print,

  • referring to notorious sinners.

  • You know what they say, more notorious sinners more problems.

  • With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.