Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Well or widely known. See Synonyms at noted.
- adj. First-rate; excellent: had a famous time at the party.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; distinguished in story or common talk: generally followed by for before the thing for which the person or thing is famed: as, a man famous for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill, etc.; a spring famous for its cures.
- Deserving of fame; praiseworthy; uncommonly good; admirable: as, he is a famous hand at such work.
- . Of good character: opposed to infamous.
- . Injurious; defamatory; slanderous.
- Synonyms Noted, Celebrated, Famous, Renowned, Illustrious, Distinguished, Eminent, Notable, Notorious, famed, far-famed, conspicuous, remarkable, signal. The first nine words express degrees and kinds of the presence or prominence of a person or thing in public knowledge or attention. Noted, celebrated, famous, are of an ascending scale of strength, and may be used in a good or a bad sense: as, a celebrated thief; a famous forger. The use of celebrated in a bad sense is rather new and less common. Noted is not much used by fastidious writers. Celebrated, renowned, illustrious, are also on an ascending scale of strength. Celebrated is, by derivation, commemorated in a solemn way, and occasionally shows somewhat of this meaning still. Renowned is, literally, named again and again. Illustrious suggests luster, splendor, in character or conduct: as, illustrious deeds; making one's country illustrious. Distinguished means marked by something that makes one stand apart from or above others in the public view. Eminent means standing high above the crowd. Notable is worthy of note, and so memorable, conspicuous, or notorious: as, a notable liar. Notorious is now used only in a bad sense, having a large and evil fame. A man may be notable, noted, or famous for his eccentricities or his industry, celebrated for his wit, renowned for his achievements, illustrious for his virtues, distinguished for his talents, eminent for his professional skill or success, notorious for his want of principle. See fame.
- To render famous or renowned.
Wiktionary
- adj. Well known.
- adj. In the public eye.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; mach talked of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad sense, chiefly the former; often followed by
for
WordNet 3.0
- adj. widely known and esteemed
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman famous, from Old French fameus (modern French fameux). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin fāmōsus, from fāma, fame. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This mortal combat between Communism and liberal democracy produced a vast literature, some books famous in their day, some famous still.”
“England that his progenitors, that is to say, the Kings of England who had preceded him, were famous -- mark the word -- "_famous_ for the”
“Since Prince owns the rights to the name "the Time," the Minneapolis men who made the moniker famous were forced to use a different appellation for this year's album, "Condensate.”
“A further five three-star restaurants are located in Osaka, a city renowned as the birthplace of "okonomiyaki" - a kind of pancake cooked on a hotplate table - while a further two top-starred eateries are in Kobe, a name famous for its associations with high-quality beef.”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
“In the old days, when Kathy Kolbe's father was creating the test that would later stir controversy and make his name famous among most NFL fans, young Kathy had no problem challenging Eldon Wonderlic's creation.”
“In his show Tuesday, he cut padded fabrics into bulging jackets, recalling the cocoon shape that made the label famous decades ago.”
““The enthusiasm with which his lecture was everywhere greeted is still ringing throughout California, and now, that his foot is on his native heath, we may expect to see the very mountains shake with a tempest of applause,” cried the Territorial Enterprise,5 making sure to add that the Enterprise was where Sam Clemens had christened the name Mark Twain “and developed that rich and inexhaustible vein of humor which has made the title famous.””
“He ticked off some names, an impressive lists, lists Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Truman, all what he called famous names of people who were in the Guard just like he has.”
“Life in the big city among the famous is apparently the same regardless of the big city in question.”
“Schlesak, a German-Romanian poet and essayist, sets his "documentary novel" in what he calls the "famous ashen gray zone" where lines blurred between jailers and prisoners, doctors and "inmates," masters and slaves.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘famous’.
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steffany(grade 2)
accident, agree, arrive, astronomy, attention, award, aware, balance, banner, bare, base, beach and 127 more...
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jackgrade2
accident, agree, arrive, astronomy, atlas, attention, award, aware, balance, banner, bare, base and 127 more...
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EN - pronunciation fun
All words of the poem
The Chaos
by Gerard Nolst Trenité
Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse <...abyss, ache, actual, advice, aerie, age, ague, aisles, alas, alien, alive, allowed and 406 more...
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INTERP - speeches can be...
adequate, adroit, blunt, blurred, committed, divisive, exacerbating, fitting, hollow, lengthy, murky, pronounced and 123 more...
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Adjectives
sagacious, average, angry, mad, crazy, giant, ugly, pretty, happy, sad, lonely, solitary and 119 more...
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Adjectives 2
Conditions
better, alive, important, wrong, vast, tender, shy, rich, mushy, odd, helpful, gifted and 8 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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dark and bright words of shine and fi...
scotophil, scotoma, scotia, shed, shadow, shade, scone, whiting, edelweiss, light, lightning, lucina and 349 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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mandarine's Words
antepenultimate, metonymy, synecdoche, pop, kern, inherit, clique, scrumptious, macerate, murmur, kerning, veranda and 1068 more...
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Unusual and Random Words
My Favourite Kind
quagmire, soliloquy, aardvark, topaz, ardent, exquisite, pyromania, pyre, extravagant, obscure, quetzal, quibble and 199 more...
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savage215's Words
pipe, yankee, knickerbocker, tennis, plasma, magma, volcano, car, truck, television, tv, word and 445 more...
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Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
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preface
occasion, impulsively, fortunately, nonetheless, scurrying, announced, particularly, handsome, immediately, witty, striking, famous and 29 more...
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Y'all come back now!
Words that remind me of Grandma's.
mosquito, kudzu, potluck, mud, famous, county, honey, sugar, sweetie, reckon, loblolly, bakelite and 15 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for famous.
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