The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Famous \Fa"mous\, a. [L. famosus, fr. fama fame: cf. F. fameux.
   See Fame.]
   Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; mach talked
   of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad
   sense, chiefly the former; often followed by for; as, famous
   for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous
   pirate.
   [1913 Webster]

         Famous for a scolding tongue.            --Shak.

   Syn: Noted; remarkable; signal; conspicuous; celebrated;
        renowned; illustrious; eminent; transcendent; excellent.

   Usage: Famous, Renowned, Illustrious. Famous is applied
          to a person or thing widely spoken of as
          extraordinary; renowned is applied to those who are
          named again and again with honor; illustrious, to
          those who have dazzled the world by the splendor of
          their deeds or their virtues. See Distinguished.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

famous
    adj 1: widely known and esteemed; "a famous actor"; "a
           celebrated musician"; "a famed scientist"; "an
           illustrious judge"; "a notable historian"; "a renowned
           painter" [syn: celebrated, famed, far-famed,
           famous, illustrious, notable, noted, renowned]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

99 Moby Thesaurus words for "famous":
   acclaimed, advantageous, august, auspicious, beneficial,
   benevolent, bon, bonny, braw, bueno, capital, celebrated, cogent,
   commendable, conspicuous, dandy, distinguished, elegant, elevated,
   eminent, estimable, exalted, excellent, expedient, fabled, fair,
   famed, far-famed, far-heard, favorable, fine, first, first-class,
   first-string, glorious, godlike, good, goodly, grand, great,
   healthy, held in esteem, helpful, heroic, high, honorable, honored,
   illustrious, kind, laudable, lauded, legendary, lionized, lofty,
   magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, marked, much acclaimed,
   mythical, nice, noble, notable, noted, notorious, of mark, of note,
   pleasant, popular, praiseworthy, prestigious, profitable,
   prominent, rate, redoubtable, regal, renowned, reputable,
   respectable, royal, skillful, soaring, sound, splendid, sublime,
   superb, superior, talked-about, talked-of, top, top-notch,
   towering, useful, valid, venerable, very good, virtuous,
   well-known, well-thought-of



The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

FAMOUS, adj.  Conspicuously miserable.

    Done to a turn on the iron, behold
        Him who to be famous aspired.
    Content?  Well, his grill has a plating of gold,
        And his twistings are greatly admired.
                                                       Hassan Brubuddy