Word of the Day Archive
Monday November 19, 2007
flout \FLOWT\
, transitive verb:
1. To treat with contempt and disregard; to show contempt for.
intransitive verb:
1. To mock, to scoff.
noun:
1. Mockery, scoffing.
The thorough training in the fine points of lyric writing that he has received from Hammerstein has made Sondheim highly critical of those lyricists who flout the basic techniques of the craft.
-- "Sondheim: Lyricist and Composer", New York Times, March 6, 1966
Seth and Dorothy were completely mystified by Janis's determination to flout as many social conventions as she could.
-- Alice Echols, Scars of Sweet Paradise
Who put your beauty to this flout and scorn
By dressing it in rags.
-- Tennyson, Idylls of the King
Flout comes from Middle English flouten, "to play the flute."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for flout
