Flout

flout







Y

D



–verb (used with object) 

1. to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock: to flout the [rules] of propriety.  



–verb (used without object) 

2. to show disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff, mock, or gibe (often fol. by at). 



–noun 

3. a disdainful, scornful, or contemptuous remark or act; insult; gibe.





C



flaunt, flout (vv.) 

 

This pair is causing increasing trouble, and the mistaken use of flaunt for flout is growing, despite much criticism. 



Flaunt means "ostentatiously to show something off, deliberately to call attention to it," as in She flaunted her expensive clothes and jewelry on all occasions. 



Flout means "deliberately to break or disregard a rule or law,” as in He flouted the parking [regulations] almost daily, seemingly daring the police to ticket his car. 



The openness and arrogance of both flaunting and flouting have probably contributed to the confusion of the two, but Edited English still insists on the two verbs being distinguished, and many Standard users consider use of flaunt for flout a first-class shibboleth. 



shibboleth

–noun 

1. a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.

2. a slogan; catchword.

3. a common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.





 　

As the naughty girl next door, in black lace and stiletto heels, she [domesticated] fetishism and flouted the postal [laws]. Page, who is still alive, was quite a celebrity in her day, until she abruptly disappeared, in 1957, into a life devoted to Jesus.





contumely n.

mortify 

humiliate or shame, subjugate by abstinence

chide

"Yes, yes, you're charming, you're brilliant," [chided] A.O. Scott in his review.

wig

The teacher wigged him [for] absent-mindedness.

Castigate