scofflaw

[skawf-law, skof-]

noun

1. a person who flouts the law, especially one who fails to pay fines owed.

2. a person who flouts rules, conventions, or accepted practices.

scofflaw

/ ˈskɒflɔː /

noun

1. informal,  a person who habitually flouts or violates the law, esp one who fails to pay debts or answer summonses

Word History and Origins

Origin of scofflaw¹

First recorded in 1920–25; scoff ¹ + law ¹

Example Sentences

Employers pushing higher attendance can expect more scofflaws.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

McMahon’s importance in 2010, it seems, had nothing to do with operating a scofflaw corporation; it was simply because she was a Republican opponent.

Read more on Salon

Witness the convicted felon and twice-impeached scofflaw now occupying the White House.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He’s a Samaritan scofflaw, soldiering on inside an almost entirely vacated neighborhood next door to the Getty Villa.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This means the scofflaw company can profitably expand while the complying company cannot, putting honest taxpayers at a competitive disadvantage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blackmailer www.thesaurus.com
• criminal 
• crook 
• culprit 
• delinquent 
• felon 
• fugitive 
• gangster 
• hoodlum 
• hooligan 
• mobster 
• offender 
• racketeer