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外刊例句
- The decentralised digital cryptocurrency, powered by a vast computer network, is notorious for the wild fluctuations in its value, the zeal of its supporters and its degenerate uses, such as extortion, buying drugs and hiring hitmen in the online bazaars of the “dark net”.
这一由庞大计算机网络支撑的去中央化数字加密货币之所以声名狼藉，原因很多：骤涨暴跌的价格、狂热的支持者，以及堕落的用途，例如勒索、购买毒品和在“黑暗网络”的在线集市上雇用职业杀手。
——《经济学人》 - Since then, he has added to his confrontational reputation by closing the capital’s most notorious nightclub after an off-duty police officer died there of a drug overdose, and by evicting thousands of illegal street vendors who had been compounding Jakarta’s chronic traffic problems.
从那以后，他关闭了首都最臭名昭著的夜总会，起因是一名不当班的警察在该夜总会服用过量毒品死亡。他还赶走了数千名非法营业的街头小贩，他们加剧了雅加达长期以来的交通问题。这些举措都提升了他为人强硬的名声。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed
[形容词] （通常因一些不好的品质或行为而）出名的或众所周知的
深入解读
看到 notorious 一词，细心的老铁应该不难想起小站前不久在 单曲循环的珍藏金曲：Every Breath You Take 中提到的美国著名说唱歌手克里斯托弗·华莱士（Christopher Wallace，见封面图头像）来，其绰号“声名狼藉先生（the Notorious B.I.G.）”中就用到了该词。
具体来说，该词源自拉丁语 notus （知名的），16世纪40年代经中古拉丁语 notorius （众所周知的）进入英语后，也是用来表示“著名的、众所周知的”，比如：
- 英语以吸收外来语著称。
English has been notorious as a word borrower.
不过到了17世纪后， notorious 开始贬化出现在的主要含义指“臭名昭著的、声名狼藉的”，多指因劣迹斑斑而出名的或众所周知的，含强烈贬义，比如：
- 这个因监狱状况恶劣而臭名远扬的国家正处在内战的边缘。
The country notorious for its appalling prison conditions is teetering on the brink of civil war. - 该行将倒闭的公司出了名地喜欢拖欠账单。
The moribund company is notorious for paying its bills late.
名著用例
Belle Watling was the most notorious of the madams.
在这些鸨母中，贝尔·沃特琳是最臭名昭著的一个。
出自美国作家玛格丽特·米切尔（Margaret Mitchell）创作的长篇小说《飘》（Gone with the Wind）。
同近义词
- infamous: well known for some bad quality or deed
- flagrant: (of something considered wrong or immoral) conspicuously or obviously offensive
- scandalous: causing general public outrage by a perceived offense against morality or law
