flout
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Commonly Confused
See flaunt.
Other Word Forms
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.
Flout means defy or show contempt; flaunt means show off.
From New York Times • Sep. 30, 2014
Flout me not, but prithee go forward, and get me what is my own, my sole joy in the world.
From The Cloister and the Hearth by Reade, Charles
The Vine has a tough Fibre which about While clings my Being;—let the Canine Flout Till his Bass Voice be pitched to such loud key It shall unlock the door I mew without.
From The Rubáiyát of a Persian Kitten by Herford, Oliver
Flout, flowt, v.t. and v.i. to jeer, mock, or insult: to treat with contempt.—n. a mock: an insult.—adv.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Flout Philistia with great glee, fair and free, But agree To take its "tin," Though with a grin Of pessimistic spite.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, January 9, 1892 by Various
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.
