Famous vs. Infamous

Famous vs. Infamous Famous vs. Infamous Famous vs. Infamous By Maeve Maddox I have long bewailed the misuse of the word famous to apply to bad people, reminding readers that the word for widely known people of ill repute is infamous. Now I’ve discovered that not only is famous erroneously applied to gangsters and murderers, but now the word infamous is being flung about as if it meant noted or simply, known. The site that brought this latest misuse to my attention features a slideshow about male celebrities who are shorter than average. Each slide provides information under the following headings: Height Date of Birth Number of Children Infamous for One or two of the celebrities are â€Å"infamous for† cocaine use, but the information that appears under the â€Å"infamous† heading for the others is nothing to be ashamed of. Here are a few examples of the behavior labeled infamous on this site: was a dishwasher once was the son of scientists sometimes hides his hand in his pocket to conceal its trembling wears thick black horn-rimmed glasses worked in a beauty salon after high school was godfather to another celebrity’s children These acts hardly fit the OED definition of infamous: Of ill fame or repute; famed or notorious for badness of any kind; notoriously evil, wicked, or vile; held in infamy or public disgrace. Here, for example, are some infamous people noted for their infamous acts: Ivan the Terrible Jack the Ripper Pol Pot Heinrich Himmler Adolf Hitler Josef Stalin Delphine LaLaurie Josef Mengele Tomas de Torquemada Actions that warrant the description of infamous include: burning people to death, performing surgical experiments on conscious children, blinding your architects, boiling your treasurer–that kind of thing. The preoccupation with the celebrity of people–famous or infamous–has coined a new expression: â€Å"famous for being famous.† In the past, the usual way to acquire fame or notoriety was to excel at something, whether writing, acting, or governing. With the advent of self-generated publicity, some people manage to become a focus of public attention for nothing at all. Frequently cited examples of this type of non-fame are: the Kardashian sisters, Paris Hilton, Kato Kaelin, Heidi Montag, Kelly Osbourne, and Ivanka Trump. Here are some words other than famous or infamous that may be used to describe a well-known person: well-known prominent famed popular renowned noted eminent distinguished esteemed celebrated respected illustrious acclaimed great legendary lionized notorious Most of these words are applicable to people known for doing commendable things. The other kind of people are perhaps best ignored as much as possible. Famous and Infamous on Newspapers Monsanto to ditch its infamous name after sale to Bayer (www.theguardian.com) - Syrian Kurdish fighters have detained two British men infamous for their role in the Islamic State’s imprisonment, torture and killing of Western hostages, according to Am (www.nytimes.com) on Broadway’s least-discovered northern stretch.Broadway is arguably the most famous thoroughfare in the world (by one measure, 250 million hits on Google versus 6 million for the Champs-Élysà ©es) (www.nytimes.com) Related posts: â€Å"Famous Doesn’t Apply to Murderers or Gangsters† Video Recap Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsHyper and HypoA Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases