notorious
[adj] To be notorious is well-known for something bad.
> She told us the story of Britain's most notorious country house murders.
scrutinize
[v] If you scrutinize something, you examine it very carefully, often to find out some information from it or about it.
> Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.
epidemic
[c.n.] If there is an epidemic of a particular disease somewhere, it affects very large number of people there and spreads quickly to other areas.
> A flu epidemic is sweeping through Moscow.
[c.n.] If an activity that you disapproved of is spreading or increasing rapidly, you can refer to this as an epidemic of that activity.
> Drug experts say that it could spell the end of the crack epidemic.
fad
[c.n.] You use a fad to refer to an activity or topic of interest that is very popular for a short time, but which people get bored with very quickly.
> Hamnett does not believe environmental concern is a passing fad.
syn. craze, fashion, trend, fancy
