Notable For: Standard Pattern
Notable For: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “notable for” when pointing out a quality, feature, or fact that makes someone or something worthy of attention.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| identify a quality, feature, achievement, or fact that makes something worthy of attention | notable for + noun/-ing phrase | Use the documented “for” complement. |
| describe something simply as notable without naming the distinguishing feature | notable | An explicit “for” phrase is not always required. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming the specific feature or fact that makes the subject worthy of attention?
If yes: Use “notable for” followed by that feature or fact.
If no: If the sentence does not name the reason, “notable” can stand without this complement.
Caveat: This guide records the attested “notable for” construction; it does not claim that “notable” always requires “for.”
Examples
The district is notable for its preserved stone houses.
The “for” phrase names the distinguishing feature.
The study is notable for including a long follow-up period.
An -ing phrase can name the feature after “for.”
Several changes were notable.
The adjective can appear without an expressed “for” complement.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “notable for” when pointing out a quality, feature, or fact that makes someone or something worthy of attention.
Style Boundary
This page records the directly evidenced “for” complement and does not claim that all uses of “notable” require an explicit complement.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- NOTABLE | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the construction “notable for” when naming a distinguishing quality or fact.