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definitions

flout

[flout]
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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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. flour mite,
  2. flour moth,
  3. flourish,
  4. flourishing,
  5. floury,
  6. flow,
  7. flow breccia,
  8. flow chart,
  9. flow cleavage,
  10. flow country

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

Examples from the Web for flout

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

flout

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper