flout

[flout]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flout ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock: to flout the rules of propriety.

verb (used without object)

to show disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff, mock, or gibe (often followed by at).

noun

a disdainful, scornful, or contemptuous remark or act; insult; gibe.

Origin of flout

1350–1400; Middle English flouten to play the flute; compare Dutch fluiten to play the flute, jeer

Related formsflout·er, nounflout·ing·ly, adverbun·flout·ed, adjective

Can be confusedflaunt flout (see usage note at flaunt)

Usage note

See flaunt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for flout

spurn, repudiate, defy, scorn, disregard, mock, gibe, quip, slight, taunt, jeer, ridicule, scoff, insult, outrage, gird, deride, sneer, affront

Examples from the Web for flout

Contemporary Examples of flout

It was a big story—indicating that Israel was continuing to flout international law to prevent Hezbollah from getting weapons.
How the Syrian War Subreddit Scoops Mainstream Media
Nina Strochlic
November 7, 2013
Republicans could flout their own resentments and true believers.
Democrats Need to Stop Attacking Obama’s Budget and Wake Up to Reality
Robert Shrum
April 14, 2013
He chose the country and let Alice flout contemporary morals, carousing and smoking in public.
Kate Upton’s Congressman Uncle and More Scandalous Political Ties
Ben Jacobs
February 15, 2012

Historical Examples of flout

Beneath the car of this Juggernaut we must flout our judgments and crush our affections.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
I know not what the world is coming to, when young maids may flout their elders.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Niagara, however, might flout them if it pleased; they could do without Niagara.
Marriage la mode
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Bessie did not pout or flout when neither Levi nor her father appeared to receive her.
Freaks of Fortune
Oliver Optic
The Gentiles, who are neither proud nor intellectual, spit upon him and flout him.
William Shakespeare
John Masefield

British Dictionary definitions for flout

flout

verb

(when intr, usually foll by at) to show contempt (for); scoff or jeer (at)

Derived Formsflouter, nounfloutingly, adverb

Word Origin for flout

C16: perhaps from Middle English flouten to play the flute, from Old French flauter compare Dutch fluiten; see flute

xref

See flaunt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flout

1550s, perhaps a special use of Middle English flowten "to play the flute" (cf. Middle Dutch fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). Related: Flouted; flouting.