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Synonyms

fly in the face of

Idioms  

  1. Also, fly in the teeth of. Act in direct opposition to or defiance of. For example, This decision flies in the face of all precedent, or They went out without permission, flying in the teeth of house rules. This metaphoric expression alludes to a physical attack. [Mid-1500s]

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.

"So much of my dad's story and how he got away was cover-up and deception, but I want to fly in the face of that and bring things into the light."

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

That move “seemed to fly in the face of market forecasts” but hasn’t, as of yet, led to a “collapse” in oil prices, he said.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 28, 2025

Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, a Brooklyn Law School professor who specializes in capital punishment argued that, given the defendants' differing sentences, an outcome where Glossip is executed "would fly in the face" of justice.

From Salon • Oct. 11, 2024

As for literally decades’ worth of decisions, both from the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, that fly in the face of his argument?

From Slate • Nov. 21, 2023

Now he had been taught what it was to fly in the face of conscience, instinct, immutable law.

From The "Genius" by Dreiser, Theodore

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.