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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
flaunt    Audio Help   [flawnt] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used without object)
1.to parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly, or boldly.
2.to wave conspicuously in the air.
–verb (used with object)
3.to parade or display ostentatiously: to flaunt one's wealth.
4.to ignore or treat with disdain: He was expelled for flaunting military regulations.
–noun
5.the act of flaunting.
6.Obsolete. something flaunted.

[Origin: 1560–70; of obscure orig.; cf. Norw dial. flanta to show off]

flaunter, noun
flaunt·ing·ly, adverb

3. flourish, exhibit, vaunt, show off.
4. The use of flaunt to mean “to ignore or treat with disdain” (He flaunts community standards with his behavior) is strongly objected to by many usage guides, which insist that only flout can properly express this meaning. From its earliest appearance in English in the 16th century, flaunt has had the meanings “to display oneself conspicuously, defiantly, or boldly” in public and “to parade or display ostentatiously.” These senses approach those of flout, which dates from about the same period: “to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock.” A sentence like Once secure in his new social position, he was able to flaunt his lower-class origins can thus be ambiguous in current English. Considering the similarity in pronunciation of the two words, it is not surprising that flaunt has assumed the meanings of flout and that this use has appeared in the speech and edited writing of even well-educated, literate persons. Nevertheless, many regard the senses of flaunt and flout as entirely unrelated and concerned speakers and writers still continue to keep them separate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
flaunt

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
flaunt    Audio Help   (flônt)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   flaunt·ed, flaunt·ing, flaunts

v.   tr.
  1. To exhibit ostentatiously or shamelessly: flaunts his knowledge. See Synonyms at show.
  2. Usage Problem To show contempt for; scorn.

v.   intr.
  1. To parade oneself ostentatiously; show oneself off.
  2. To wave grandly: pennants flaunting in the wind.


[Origin unknown.]

flaunt'er n., flaunt'ing·ly adv.
Usage Note: Flaunt as a transitive verb means "to exhibit ostentatiously": She flaunted her wealth. To flout is "to show contempt for": She flouted the proprieties. For some time now flaunt has been used in the sense "to show contempt for," even by educated users of English. This usage is still widely seen as erroneous and is best avoided.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
flaunt 
1566, "to display oneself in flashy clothes," of unknown origin; perhaps a variant of flout or vaunt. It looks Fr., but it corresponds to no known Fr. word. Transitive sense is from 1827.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
flaunt

noun
1. the act of displaying something ostentatiously; "his behavior was an outrageous flaunt" 

verb
1. display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously; "he showed off his new sports car" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
flaunt [floːnt] verb
to show off in order to attract attention to oneself
Example: She flaunted her expensive clothes.
Arabic: يَتَباهى، يـظاهرُ متفاخِرا
Chinese (Simplified): 夸耀,炫耀
Chinese (Traditional): 誇耀,炫耀
Czech: chlubit se (čím), okázale předvádět
Danish: prale af; skilte med
Dutch: pronken met
Estonian: (millegagi) uhkeldama
Finnish: pöyhkeillä jollakin
French: faire étalage de
German: prunken
Greek: επιδεικνύω
Hungarian: fitogtat
Icelandic: flagga; sÿna sig
Indonesian: memamerkan
Italian: ostentare
Japanese: 見せびらかす
Korean: 과시하다
Latvian: dižoties; plātīties
Lithuanian: puikuotis
Norwegian: sprade, spankulere, vifte med
Polish: paradować w, obnosić się z
Portuguese (Brazil): exibir, ostentar
Portuguese (Portugal): exibir
Romanian: a etala
Russian: щеголять
Slovak: pýšiť sa
Slovenian: napihovati se
Spanish: ostentar, hacer alarde de
Swedish: briljera (stoltsera) med
Turkish: gösteriş yapmak
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Flaunt

Flaunt\ (? or ?; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flaunted; p. pr. & vb. n.. Flaunting.] [Cf. dial. G. flandern to flutter, wave; perh. akin to E. flatter, flutter.] To throw or spread out; to flutter; to move ostentatiously; as, a flaunting show.

You flaunt about the streets in your new gilt chariot. --Arbuthnot.

One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade. --Pope.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Flaunt

Flaunt\, v. t. To display ostentatiously; to make an impudent show of.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Flaunt

Flaunt\, n. Anything displayed for show. [Obs.]

In these my borrowed flaunts. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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