in·fa·my

[in-fuh-mee]
noun, plural in·fa·mies for 3.
1.
extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act: a time that will live in infamy.
2.
infamous character or conduct.
3.
an infamous act or circumstance.
4.
Law. loss of rights, incurred by conviction of an infamous offense.

Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English infamye < Latin infāmia, equivalent to infām(is) ill-famed (in- in-3 + fām(a) fame + -is adj. suffix) + -ia -y3


1. disrepute, obloquy, odium, opprobrium, shame. See disgrace.


1. credit, honor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To infamy
00:10
Infamy is an SAT word you need to know.
So is nefarious. Does it mean:
Hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: lacking clear defined form: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.
extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous:
Collins
World English Dictionary
infamy (ˈɪnfəmɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -mies
1.  the state or condition of being infamous
2.  an infamous act or event
 
[C15: from Latin infāmis of evil repute, from in-1 + fāmafame]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

infamy

public disgrace or loss of reputation, particularly as a consequence of criminal conviction. In early common law, conviction for an infamous crime resulted in disqualification to testify as a witness. The criterion for considering a crime infamous was whether or not it stamped the offender as untrustworthy. The concept was, therefore, at first limited to so-called crimen falsi, originally perjury, but was extended to any crime involving fraud or corruption. Eventually, all felonies came to be treated as infamous. Testimonial incompetency for infamy, however, has been abolished by statute in England and generally in the United States as well.

Learn more about infamy with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
His misguided zeal led him on to the deed which gained for him not fame, but deepest infamy.
It was indeed a day that will in infamy, but it's not the one you're thinking.
Thus by all means that may be they procure to have gold and silver among them in reproach and infamy.
Infamy was babbling around her in the public market-place.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT