Flout/Flaunt

[PaulQ]

Please see:
for flauting a federal court order

And also
flaunt - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
in which the following appears:

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2017
flaunt (flônt), v.i.

to parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly, or boldly.
to wave conspicuously in the air.
v.t.
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.

The entry in red needs removing.

From WRF:
USAGE
Flaunt is sometimes wrongly used where flout is meant: they must be prevented from flouting (not flaunting) the law

 

[Yanglish]

Interesting. This is good to know.

 

[velisarius]

The "incorrect" use of the verb is widespread, so we need to be aware that, when we encounter "flaunt", the meaning may well be "flout".

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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

 

[ewie]

For some time now flaunt has been used in the sense "to show contempt for," even by educated users of English.

Hmm, how educated?

 

[velisarius]

Educated enough to be on the usage panel of that dictionary. I won't say "educated in the USA", because it might sound supercilious, or insular, or in some way offensive.

 

[velisarius]

My copy of the 1988 Longman Guide to English Usage has this:

flaunt, flout
[...] They have in common a certain quality of barefaced impudence, which may be why many people use flaunt incorrectly for flout, as in He has flaunted my authority. Nobody seems to use flout for flaunt.

Note the last sentence: I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies.

 

[velisarius]

See also: Flaunt vs. flout the rules

 

[sound shift]

The entry in red needs removing.

This is still true because it's still there.

 

[lucylinguist]

I agree with entries #1 and #8 ! It would be great to remove that last line from the definitions, or at least add a note that it is "incorrect usage: see flout".
Hmm, but how do we attract the attention of a moderator from within an old thread? Maybe by reposting in it to make it recent?

 

[Cagey]

The purpose of the Dictionary Additions is to enter words and terms not included in established dictionaries.
➡️ READ before posting in the Dictionary Additions forum

To report dictionary errors go to the definition page of the word you are interested in.
At the bottom of the page, in small letters, you will see a link to 'Suggestions.' The next page includes a link to the page for reporting errors.

I have used that form to report the error in the definition of 'flaunt'. It may take a while for them to make the change.