Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To ignore or disregard (a rule or convention, for example) in an open or defiant way.
- transitive verb Archaic To express contempt for; mock or jeer at.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To play on the flute.
- noun A flute.
- noun A boys' whistle.
- noun A truss or bundle.
- noun A mock; a scoff; a gibe.
- To mock; jeer; scoff; behave with disdain or contumely: with at before an object.
- To mock or scoff at; treat with disdain or contempt.
- Synonyms See
taunt .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A mock; an insult.
- intransitive verb To practice mocking; to behave with contempt; to sneer; to fleer; -- often with
at . - transitive verb To mock or insult; to treat with contempt.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To express
contempt for therules by word or action. - verb To
scorn .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb treat with contemptuous disregard
- verb laugh at with contempt and derision
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The OED’s first attestation of flaunt to mean flout is in 1923, so apparently once the error appeared, it took off like gangbusters.
Flout good taste; flaunt your excesses « Motivated Grammar 2008
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That’s weird, because the similarity between flaunt and flout is phonetic.
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That’s weird, because the similarity between flaunt and flout is phonetic.
Flout good taste; flaunt your excesses « Motivated Grammar 2008
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The OED’s first attestation of flaunt to mean flout is in 1923, so apparently once the error appeared, it took off like gangbusters.
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To flout is to show contempt for: He flouts the law.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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To flout is to show contempt for: He flouts the law.
Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage PAUL R. MARTIN 2002
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When asked how best to deal with mining companies that "flout" regulations, Mary Lu Jordan, chairman of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, had a different take.
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GOP candidates "flout" family values? heh wrote on October 19, 2007 12: 47 PM:
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¬ † I sincerely doubt that a little cabal of NASA HQ folks had this all planned - just as you hypothesize - such that they could deliberately "flout" Congress - and do so when Congress was home for the holidays - oh yes, with no one noticing.
Conspiracy Mongering From The Planetary Society's Leader - NASA Watch 2007
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‰I sincerely doubt that a little cabal of NASA HQ folks had this all planned - just as you hypothesize - such that they could deliberately "flout" Congress - and do so when Congress was home for the holidays - oh yes, with no one noticing.
bilby commented on the word flout
"Who put your beauty to this flout and scorn
By dressing it in rags."
- Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King
November 20, 2007
kingparton commented on the word flout
I will prove to you that my love has grown, that it is greater to me than my class and all that is dearest to me. All that is dearest to the bourgeoisie I will flout. I am no longer afraid of life.
Jack London, Martin Eden
January 2, 2012