Basic Details
Word: Infamous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Well known for something bad.
Synonyms: notorious, disreputable, scandalous
Antonyms: respected, honourable
How to Spell Infamous
Syllables: in - fa - mous
Tricky part: It is spelt in + famous, but said IN-fuh-mus with the stress at the start, so students lose the o or add an e.
Watch out for: infamus, infamouse, inphamous
Memory tip: Spell it as in + famous, then remember that the meaning flips: famous for the wrong reasons.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The bridge is infamous for its traffic jams during the monsoon.
Example 2: The Chambal ravines were once infamous as a hideout for dacoits.
Example 3: That corner of the playground is infamous for its giant red ants.
Fun Fact
In Roman law, a person declared infamis lost part of their good name and some legal rights, which is where the bad sense of infamous comes from.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word infamous as used in the sentence:
The fort's dungeon became infamous for the prisoners who were never seen again.
a) celebrated
b) notorious
c) harmless
d) forgotten
Show answer
b) notorious. Notorious also means famous for something bad; celebrated is famous for something good.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The infamus smuggler was finally caught at the border with a truck full of fake medicines.
a) border
b) medicines
c) smuggler
d) infamus
Show answer
d) infamus. The word is built on famous, so it keeps the o before u.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The musafoin pirate Blackbeard terrified ships along the American coast.
a) famous
b) infamous
c) ominous
d) infectious
Show answer
b) infamous. All eight letters must be used, so famous is too short; ominous needs two o's and infectious needs a c and a t.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A town that is infamous for its potholes is one that is ____.
a) famous for its sweets
b) well known for having bad roads
c) proud of its smooth roads
d) unknown to most people
Show answer
b) well known for having bad roads
2. Infamous does NOT mean ____.
a) notorious
b) disgraceful
c) unknown
d) scandalous
Show answer
c) unknown
