“Famous” Doesn’t Apply to Murderers or Gangsters

The latest Mall Murderer left a note expressing the idea that “now” (i.e., after killing several inoffensive strangers at the local mall), he would be “famous.”

It is to be hoped that writers won’t make the mistake of applying that particular adjective to doers of evil deeds.

The adjective famous has the meaning “honored for achievement.”

To describe those who do evil attention-getting things, we have the words infamous and notorious.

The word infamous expresses the idea that the person or incident described is one of a vicious, contemptible, or criminal nature.

The word notorious once meant simply “widely-known,” but for many centuries has been used as a word of condemnation. For example, Albert Schweitzer was a famous medical missionary to Africa, but Al Capone was a notorious gangster.

Each of these adjectives has a corresponding abstract noun:
famous / fame
infamous / infamy
notorious / notoriety

On this very day in 1941, President Roosevelt remarked that the date December 7, 1941 would “live in infamy.”

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Maeve on December 7, 2007 | Filed Under Misused Words

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11 Responses to ““Famous” Doesn’t Apply to Murderers or Gangsters”

Joe Donaldson on December 7th, 2007 3:21 pm

Some people go into sports or acting or politics or start a business in the hopes of becoming famous. This kid woke up and thought, “I’ll just shoot up the mall.”

What a [loser].
FinanceAndFat on December 7th, 2007 4:13 pm

I’m glad you posted this! I’ve had many conversations with people who don’t understand famous/infamous. It’s so simple!
Mary on December 7th, 2007 5:07 pm

I’m glad you posted this, too. That stuck out to me as well when I heard the news report. My husband also picked right up on it. Both of us instantly thought, famous? No, pal. Infamous, maybe. Personally, I’m trying my hardest not to give him the satisfaction, and working to dismiss the entire thing from my mind.

I wish these nuts would get a reality check and realize that breaking up with a girlfriend at 19 and losing a job at McDonald’s is no life-ending event - and certainly never an excuse to harm innocent people! (not that there is one)
Connie on December 7th, 2007 6:19 pm

Thank you for this post, that is excellent advice. I can’t believe the whole thing, it’s just horrible. The last thing we want to do is encourage that sort of thinking by giving it a positive connotation.
temp- on December 7th, 2007 11:46 pm

wow, good tip

but now im not sure about how it is in my first language (spanish)

famoso / fama
infame / infamia
notorio / notoriedad

in our case infame isnt too used so i thing people still use famoso (famous) to infamous poeple, infame isnt popular either so i thing famoso is correct at least in my particular language
Ann on December 8th, 2007 12:14 am

so you suggest not to use on this way
“He was a famous gangster.”
Maeve on December 8th, 2007 12:47 am

Ann,
Definitely not. Bad guys get “infamous” or “notorious”. To say “famous” is to imply approval.
Jodie on December 8th, 2007 1:59 am

Another excellent tip!

So what exactly happened on the 7th of December?
Maeve on December 8th, 2007 3:47 am

The Japanese air force bombed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) and the U.S. finally entered the war (WWII).