flout
/flaʊt
/verb
1 [with object] Openly disregard (a rule, law, or convention): the advertising code is being flouted...
- In the future, how can we make demands like that with a straight face - or will others pay any heed when we ignore the conventions and flout the rules ourselves?
- Under EU rules they flout the law if they carry out the same practice as American dentists and could face six months in jail or a £5,000 fine.
- In fact, the aggressor in this war has not only ignored the relevant UN resolution, it has defied the United Nations and openly flouted international law.
Synonyms
defy, refuse to obey, go against, rebel against, scorn, disdain, show contempt for, fly in the face of, thumb one's nose at, make a fool of, poke fun at;
disobey, break, violate, fail to comply with, fail to observe, contravene, infringe, breach, commit a breach of, transgress against;
ignore, disregard, set one's face against, kick against
informal cock a snook at
Law infract
archaic set at naught
2 [no object] archaic Mock; scoff: the women pointed and flouted at her...
- ‘Okay, you get off this time but just make sure you know, flattery only gets you so far,’ she flouted.
Usage
Flout and flaunt do not have the same meaning: see flaunt (usage).
Origin
Mid 16th century: perhaps from Dutch fluiten 'whistle, play the flute, hiss (in derision)'; German dialect pfeifen auf, literally 'pipe at', has a similar extended meaning.
Flout, which appeared in the 16th century and means ‘to openly disregard a rule or convention’, may come from a Dutch word fluiten meaning ‘whistle, play the flute, hiss derisively’. There is a German dialect expression pfeifen auf, literally ‘pipe at’, which is used in a similar way. Flout is often confused with flaunt (mid 16th century), ‘to display something ostentatiously’, but there is no connection—the origin of flaunt is unknown.