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INFAMY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Evil fame or public reputation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("infamy" is a kind of...):
discredit; disrepute (the state of being held in low esteem)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "infamy"):
ill fame; notoriety (the state of being known for some unfavorable act or quality)
Antonym:
fame (favorable public reputation)
Derivation:
infamous (known widely and usually unfavorably)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A state of extreme dishonor
Example:
the name was a by-word of scorn and opprobrium throughout the city
Synonyms:
infamy; opprobrium
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("infamy" is a kind of...):
dishonor; dishonour (a state of shame or disgrace)
Antonym:
fame (the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed)
Derivation:
infamous (known widely and usually unfavorably)
Context examples:
Lady Bertram did not think deeply, but, guided by Sir Thomas, she thought justly on all important points; and she saw, therefore, in all its enormity, what had happened, and neither endeavoured herself, nor required Fanny to advise her, to think little of guilt and infamy.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Into the details of the infamy at which I thus connived (for even now I can scarce grant that I committed it) I have no design of entering; I mean but to point out the warnings and the successive steps with which my chastisement approached.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
I saw that I was suspected, and I saw, also, that even if I were to clear myself, it could only be done by a public confession of the infamy of my brother.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Be that as it may, she saw him go with regret; and in this early example of what Lydia's infamy must produce, found additional anguish as she reflected on that wretched business.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Five dollars for five thousand words, ten words for a cent, the market price for art. The disappointment of it, the lie of it, the infamy of it, were uppermost in his thoughts; and under his closed eyelids, in fiery figures, burned the $3.85 he owed the grocer.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
As I watched the captain’s face flush fiery-red, and then turn to a livid white as he listened to those bitter words which told him of his infamy, my revenge was sweeter—far sweeter—than my most pleasant dreams had ever pictured it.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Elizabeth, particularly, who knew that her mother owed to the latter the preservation of her favourite daughter from irremediable infamy, was hurt and distressed to a most painful degree by a distinction so ill applied.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, therefore, could be fairly conjectured from that, though Elizabeth, who was by this time tolerably well acquainted with her own feelings, was perfectly aware that, had she known nothing of Darcy, she could have borne the dread of Lydia's infamy somewhat better.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
