notorious

a (1) : being or constituting something commonly known : well known *iron is a notorious conductor of heat— Lewis Mumford* *the notorious mass-energy relation— P.W.Bridgman* *the possession must be open and notorious— C.S.Lobingier* *contradicted by multiple and notorious documentation— G.G.Coulton* *in mathematics it is notorious that we start from absurdities to reach a realm of law— Havelock Ellis* (2) : well known or celebrated for a particular quality or trait *the tapeworms are notorious in this respect— W.H.Dowdeswell* *it is notorious for its ability to dive instantly— Ralph Hoffmann* *novelists are notorious for their howlers— V.S.Pritchett* *notorious as a sane level-headed man— Arnold Bennett*  b (1) : widely and unfavorably known as an individual of a specified kind or class *a notorious chiseler* *a notorious gangster* *a notorious gambler* *this bird is a notorious destroyer of poultry* (2) : widely and unfavorably known or discussed for something reprehensible or scandalous or for some negative quality or trait *an area notorious for soot, smog, and dust— Pliotron* *this scandal made the little town notorious— American Guide Series: Michigan* *his front was a notorious law firm— George Carter* *the most notorious of Confederate prisons— W.B.Hesseltine*