flout
Americanverb (used with object)
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flouts,
present (3rd person singular)
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flouted,
past participle, past
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flouting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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flouts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
flouted,
past participle, past
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flouting
present participle
noun
verb
Commonly Confused
See flaunt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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floutsimple
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floutssimple
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have floutedperfect
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has floutedperfect
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am floutingprogressive
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are floutingprogressive
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is floutingprogressive
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have been floutingperfect progressive
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has been floutingperfect progressive
Past
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floutedsimple
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had floutedperfect
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was floutingprogressive
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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.
See Examples For:
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
Drivers who flout the rules can be fined $490, according to Caltrans, the body that operates the state's freeways.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
But some flout their commanders’ orders in efforts to maximize their chances of survival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
"There's plenty of leeway to bend the rules strategically, to flout the rules for a while and get marketing clout," he adds.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
The Southern Baptist Mission League gave us this hint, without coming right out and telling us to flout the law of the forty-four pounds, and from there we made our plan.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
It flouts the single most important rule of investing, which is to make sure you are diversified; at least 60% U.S. stocks and 40% international stocks would be better.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 4, 2025
Self-identification as Native American also flouts the sovereign right of tribes to determine rules for citizenship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
The second, equally obvious problem with the state’s argument is that it flouts the rules for holding a statute unconstitutional.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2024
She transcends her humble roots, entrances the King and flouts 18th-century Versailles protocol.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2024
Keegan’s problem is that he flouts another principle of coherence in writing, the last one we will visit in this chapter.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
He flouted art-school rules and declined to hide his homosexuality in an era when many did.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
In recent years, however, the company has repeatedly flouted regulators and the legal process.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
And that even in inherently risky mine environments, human error most often proves to be the fatal factor: management failure, flawed safety systems and flouted protocols.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
North Korea is subject to multiple United Nations sanctions banning its nuclear weapons development and use of ballistic missile technology, restrictions it has repeatedly flouted.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
There were rules that had to be followed, and people didn’t take it kindly when you flouted them.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
They said the focus likely will be on companies hyping AI businesses without having actual technology advantages, using overseas operations to skirt domestic regulations, or flouting Beijing’s orders against price wars.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
“This is a desperate situation where you have a lawless agency flouting the laws and threatening resources,” Rosenfield said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
A woman suspected of stalking rock star Yungblud is being sought by police after she was accused of flouting a ban on attending his concerts.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Chinese officials are so afraid of flouting the rules that one state-owned booze company skipped serving alcohol at a conference last year, according to media reports and a person who attended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
One mouth closed on a spoon meant two crying empty, feathers flying, so I dashed back and forth like a mother bird, flouting nature’s maw with a brood too large.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
