Oh my word Flaunt, Flout; Flaunter, Flouter

In the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter betrayed a flaw in his linguistic armoury when he said: ‘The government of Iran must realize that it cannot flaunt, with impunity, the express will and law of the world community.’ Flaunt means to show off; he meant flout.” –Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language by Bill Bryson

Flaunt and flout are confusable words but they have distinct meanings. One of the reasons for the confusion of flaunt and flout is that once a reputed American dictionary listed flaunt and flout as synonyms but withdrew following an uproar from wordsmiths and purists.

Is flaunting wealth is flouting modesty, or social decency? Do you flaunt your wealth or prefer to flout the rules of a game when you play? Flaunt is a verb meaning to show something to someone in an open way such once wealth, status, worldly possessions so that other people will notice; to make oneself visible to the public; to display; to wave something at someone; to display one’s possession (or borrowed) proudly, to show off something to someone.

The stalks of the grass flaunted their inflorescences as the breeze blew. Marriages are the occasions for many people to flaunt their jewellery like the models flaunt their beauties at beauty pageants. Is your boss flaunting superiority, if so you cannot do anything unless he or she causes harassment in the workplace?

People in positions of power and authority who flaunt rules (to treat contemptuously) could get noticed caught by the press. The variants of flaunt are flaunt (noun), flauntingly (adverb) and flaunty (adjective). Who is the flaunter, and flouter in your social circle?

Flout is a verb. Flout means expressing contempt for something such as rules, laws, regulations; mocking someone by word or action; usually followed by at, flout refers to mocking something (she flouted at him with her intemperate utterances); scoff at someone, and to break or ignore a law without hiding or inhibition or fear or shame, to indulge in scornful behaviour, despise something or someone.

Flout also functions as noun, so is flouter. Do police flout rules? Why laws and norms are flouted across the country so brazenly especially the traffic rules and civic sense. Children draw the attention of teachers when they flout school rules.

Flout ’em, and scout ’em; and scout ’em, and flout ’em; Thought is free. –William Shakespeare
The variants of flout are flouts, flouted, flouting (verbs) and floutingly (adverb). Is North Korea a flouter on nuclear disarmament, or is it its right to conduct nuclear tests?