Words / C1

ri-NOWND/rɪˈnaʊnd/

Renowned means famous and respected for a quality: renowned for patience, a renowned clinic. Famous is everyday and can be empty celebrity; well known is weaker. Renown is the rare noun. Do not write renowned for a local café nobody outside the street has heard of unless you are being wry.

Meaning

Famous and respected for a particular quality.

Examples

• “She is renowned for patient, exact feedback.”
• “The lab is renowned for dull, reproducible methods, which is the point.”
• “Renowned as a speaker is reputation; notorious would be fame for the wrong reason.”

Good to know

Famous and respected for + quality. Everyday: famous / well known. Contrast: notorious (bad fame). Noun: renown.

Near in meaning

famous

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