Adjacent Words

Famous definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FA'MOUS, a. [L. famosus. See Fame.]
1. Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; much talked of and praised; distinguished in story.
Two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation. Numbers 16.
It is followed by for. One man is famous for erudition; another, for eloquence; and another, for military skill.
2. sometimes in a bad sense; as a famous counterfeiter; a famous pirate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: widely known and esteemed; "a famous actor"; "a celebrated musician"; "a famed scientist"; "an illustrious judge"; "a notable historian"; "a renowned painter" [syn: celebrated, famed, far-famed, famous, illustrious, notable, noted, renowned]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin famosus, from fama fame Date: 14th century 1. a. widely known b. honored for achievement 2. excellent, first-rate <famous weather for a walk> • famousness noun Synonyms: famous, renowned, celebrated, noted, notorious, distinguished, eminent, illustrious mean known far and wide. famous implies little more than the fact of being, sometimes briefly, widely and popularly known <a famous actress>. renowned implies more glory and acclamation <one of the most renowned figures in sports history>. celebrated implies notice and attention especially in print <the most celebrated beauty of her day>. noted suggests well-deserved public attention <the noted mystery writer>. notorious frequently adds to famous an implication of questionableness or evil <a notorious gangster>. distinguished implies acknowledged excellence or superiority <a distinguished scientist who won the Nobel Prize>. eminent implies even greater prominence for outstanding quality or character <the country's most eminent writers>. illustrious stresses enduring honor and glory attached to a deed or person <illustrious war heroes>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 (often foll. by for) celebrated; well known. 2 colloq. excellent. Derivatives: famousness n. Etymology: ME f. AF, OF fameus f. L famosus f. fama fame

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Famous Fa"mous, a. [L. famosus, fr. fama fame: cf. F. fameux. See Fame.] 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; as, famous for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous pirate. Famous for a scolding tongue. --Shak. Syn: Noted; remarkable; signal; conspicuous; celebrated; renowned; illustrious; eminent; transcendent; excellent. Usage: Famous, Renowned, Illustrious. Famous is applied to a person or thing widely spoken of as extraordinary; renowned is applied to those who are named again and again with honor; illustrious, to those who have dazzled the world by the splendor of their deeds or their virtues. See Distinguished.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Someone or something that is famous is very well known. New Orleans is famous for its cuisine. ...England's most famous landscape artist, John Constable. ADJ: oft ADJ for n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Celebrated, renowned, distinguished, illustrious, eminent, remarkable, famed, noted, far-famed.

Moby Thesaurus

acclaimed, advantageous, august, auspicious, beneficial, benevolent, bon, bonny, braw, bueno, capital, celebrated, cogent, commendable, conspicuous, dandy, distinguished, elegant, elevated, eminent, estimable, exalted, excellent, expedient, fabled, fair, famed, far-famed, far-heard, favorable, fine, first, first-class, first-string, glorious, godlike, good, goodly, grand, great, healthy, held in esteem, helpful, heroic, high, honorable, honored, illustrious, kind, laudable, lauded, legendary, lionized, lofty, magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, marked, much acclaimed, mythical, nice, noble, notable, noted, notorious, of mark, of note, pleasant, popular, praiseworthy, prestigious, profitable, prominent, rate, redoubtable, regal, renowned, reputable, respectable, royal, skillful, soaring, sound, splendid, sublime, superb, superior, talked-about, talked-of, top, top-notch, towering, useful, valid, venerable, very good, virtuous, well-known, well-thought-of