2022-03-27
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน - Set – F - flaunt & flout
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Dictionary.com:
ออกเสียง flaunt “FLAWNT”
ออกเสียง flout =”FLOUT”
Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary:
flaunt & flout
To flaunt is to show off:
you flaunt your new necklace by wearing it to work.
“Flout” has a more negative connotation;
it means to treat with contempt some rule or standard.
The cliché is “to flout convention.”
Flaunting may be in bad taste
because it’s ostentatious, but it is not a violation of standards.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions:
flaunt & flout
These words are often used interchangeably,
but they have distinct meanings.
Flaunt means “to show off,”
“to make a boastful display.”
Flout means “to scoff at,”
“to scorn.”
Say: “This prisoner has continued to flout (not flaunt) the law.”
“The cook flaunted (not flouted) his skill in flipping flapjacks.”
Dictionary.com:
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH FLAUNT
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 itsearliest 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.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Choose the Right Synonym for flaunt
Show, Exhibit, Display, Expose, Parade, Flaunt
mean to present so as to invite notice or attention.
Show implies no more than enabling another to see or examine.
showed her snapshots to the whole group
Exhibit stresses putting forward prominently or openly.
exhibit paintings at a gallery
Display emphasizes putting in a position wher e others may see to advantage.
display sale items
Expose suggests bringing forth from concealment and displaying.
sought to expose the hypocrisy of the town fathers
Parade implies an ostentatious or arrogant displaying.
parading their piety for all to see
Flaunt suggests a shameless, boastful, often offensive parading.
nouveaux riches flaunting their wealth
Choose the Right Synonym for flout
Verb
Scoff, Jeer, Gibe, Fleer, Sneer, Flout
mean to show one's contempt in derision or mockery.
Scoff stresses insolence, disrespect, or incredulity as motivating the derision.
scoffed at their concerns
Jeer suggests a coarser more undiscriminating derision.
the crowd jeered at the prisoners
Gibe implies taunting either good-naturedly or in sarcastic derision.
hooted and gibed at the umpire
Fleer suggests grinning or grimacing derisively.
the saucy jackanapes fleered at my credulity
Sneer stresses insulting by contemptuous facial expression, phrasing, or tone of voice.
sneered at anything romantic
Flout stresses contempt shown by refusal to heed.
flouted the conventions of polite society
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Flaunt vs. Flout: Usage Guide
Although the "treat contemptuously" sense of flaunt
undoubtedly arose from confusion with flout,
the contexts in which it appears cannot be called substandard.
meting out punishment to the occasional mavericks
who operate rigged games, tolerate rowdyism,
or otherwise flaunt the law — Oscar Lewis
observed with horror the flaunting of their authority in the suburbs,
where men … put up buildings that had no place at all
in a Christian commonwealth — Marchette Chute
in our profession … very rarely do we publicly chastise
a colleague who has flaunted our most basic principles
— R. T. Blackburn, AAUP Bull.
If you use it, however, you should be aware that
many people will consider it a mistake.
Use of flout in the sense of "flaunt, parade" is found occasionally.
"The proper pronunciation," the blonde said,
flouting her refined upbringing, "is pree feeks" — Mike Royko
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
flaunt
Did you know?
If you flout a rule or societal norm,
you ignore it without hiding what you're doing,
or showing fear or shame.
The similar-sounding word flaunt
is sometimes used in the same way,
though that word's older and more common meaning
is "to display ostentatiously."
Critics have been complaining about
the confusion of these two words since the early 1900s,
but use of flaunt with the meaning
"to treat with contemptuous disregard"
is found in even polished, edited writing,
and so that meaning is included in our and other dictionaries
as an established use of the word.
Nonetheless, you may want to avoid it:
there are still many who judge harshly
those who fail to keep these two words distinct.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Words of the Week ending November 5th, 2021
’Flout’ & ‘Flaunt’
As government (at the state and federal level), businesses, and schools
continue to issue directives and regulations
in response to the Covid-19 pandemic,
it is perhaps useful to remind everyone
of the difference between flout and flaunt.
Flout is most oftenused with the meaning
of “to treat with contemptuous disregard,”
Flaunt is typically used in the sense
of “to display ostentatiously or impudently.”
We do provide a definition for flaunt
which is synonymous with flout: “to treat contemptuously.”
We offer this definition due to the fact
that flaunt has been widely used in this manner for many decades.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Usage Notes
Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
Commonly Confused Words, Vol. 1
Last Updated: 14 Mar 2022
Flaunt/Flout
Question:
If you treat convention with disdain,
are you flouting or flaunting the rules?
Answer:
flouting
How to Remember It:
Think of whistling - or actually, playing the flute
- instead of doing what's expected.
Why? Because flout probably originates
in the Middle English word flouten, "to play the flute."
It's not clear how a word for playing the flute
evolved into a synonym of mock and insult
(the original meaning of flout),
but here's a guess:
in the hands of some entertainers,
the flute can project a teasing, even mocking, carefree air.
By the way, using flaunt in sentences
like the one above is now standard,
although many folks still consider it incorrect.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
'Flaunt' vs. 'Flout'
Is it wrong to confuse these words?
The English language has, as do all other languages,
certain conventions which govern its use.
Some of these are grammatical,
such as
whether you should use a nominative or an objective pronoun
following a preposition (objective, as in “between you and me”).
Others might be better characterized as issues of usage;
these may overlap with grammar,
but generally are more concerned with style than syntax.
A fine example of this second kind of convention (or rule, if you prefer)
is the dictum about whether you should use flout or flaunt.
The use of these words is messy and complicated,
the meanings are still in flux,
and many people like to complain about
the apparent misuse of them. What’s not to love?
If you treat a convention with disdain you are flouting it.
If you make
an ostentatious display of something then you are flaunting it.
So why is this a problem?
Mainly because people seem to have
the habit of using flaunt to mean flout.
Although both of these words have been in use since the 16th century,
the habit of using flaunt instead of flout
appears to have not begun until the beginning of the 20th,
and became notably more common in the 1930s and 1940s.
Once the use of flaunt to mean “to treat contemptuously” took off,
it proved very difficult to convince people that
they should not use the word in this fashion
(usage guides have been scolding people
about this for a number of decades now).
Although the original senses of each word are not synonymous,
they each do have connotations of disapproval,
and each one describes an action
that many people would find unseemly, or improper.
It is not difficult to find
examples of this broadened sense of flaunt
in published and polished prose.
In fact, it is common enough that we have included this sense
(as have a number of other fine dictionaries).
Before you grab your pitchfork
and accuse the lexicographic community
of willfully flouting the dicta of the usage gods (which we are not),
or charge that we are flaunting our role
as the arbiters of all that is proper and fine with the English language
(that is not our role), please take a minute to consider our position.
Dictionaries record the language use of a people;
they do not attempt to sway it.
If enough people use a word in a certain fashion,
we are compelled to record that use.
Should you find that differentiating between these words still vexes you, here is another way of looking at it:
if you decide that you just don’t care what people think,
and that you are going to use flaunt to mean
“treat with disdain for convention” you are flouting that prescribed usage;
if you do care to observe the distinction,
and make sure that everyone knows that you know what it is
by using flaunt and flout all the time,
then you would be flaunting your knowledge of a usage prescription.
A final note:
although we include the recent sense of flaunt,
this does not mean that
we are suggesting you use it in such a fashion,
and most copy editors, usage guides, and grammatically
inclined pickers of nits would judge you for doing so.
Some of them might even snigger.
We never would do such a thing.
But we might raise our eyebrows,
make a quick note on a citation slip,
and record your usage as evidence.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language:
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 something by disregarding it":
Some people at the reception flouted convention by wearing
sneakers.
For some time now flaunt has been used in the sense
"to show contempt for," even by educated users of English.
But this usage is still widely seen as erroneous.
In our 2009 survey, 73 percent of the Usage Panel rejected it
in the sentence
This is just another example of an executive flaunting the rules for personal gain.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary:
launt′er, n.
flaunt′ing•ly, adv.
usage:
Usage guides object strongly to flaunt in the sense
“to ignore or treat with disdain,”
advising that the proper word for this meaning is flout.
Though this use of flaunt has appeared in the speech
and edited writing of well-educated, literate people,
many speakers and writers avoid it.
