flout
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Commonly Confused
See flaunt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
floutsimple
-
floutssimple
-
have floutedperfect
-
has floutedperfect
-
am floutingprogressive
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are floutingprogressive
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is floutingprogressive
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have been floutingperfect progressive
-
has been floutingperfect progressive
Past
-
floutedsimple
-
had floutedperfect
-
was floutingprogressive
-
were floutingprogressive
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had been floutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flout
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flouten “to play the flute” ( see flute); compare Dutch fluiten “to play the flute, talk smoothly, soothe, blandish, impose upon, jeer”
Explanation
To flout is to scorn or show contempt for. "I flout the law and the concept of civilian safety by making a concerted effort to jaywalk every time I cross a street." Oddly enough, when flout came into existence in the 1550s, it had a much different sense to it than it does now; it's believed that it evolved from the Middle English flowten, “to play the flute." These days, the verb flout means "to scorn," as in to scorn a law, person, or social norm by defying it. As a noun, it is a contemptuous remark or insult. Wrote William Shakespeare, “Flout 'em, and scout 'em; and scout 'em and flout 'em; Thought is free.”
Vocabulary lists containing flout
Much Ado About Nothing
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"
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The Tempest
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She believes that if all the signs point to a partner-less destiny anyway, then she may as well flout the dictates of her mother and the marriage mart.
From Salon • Jun. 25, 2026
Those are the conventions and rulings that Feiglin and others now openly flout and disregard.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
“More broadly, this is about how FIFA’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organization’s rules.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
She urged parents and children to help the government monitor compliance and report companies that flout the law.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
“Why should decent-minded citizens like layabouts who pay nothing to the state and flout every planning regulation in the book?”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
