Hello all!

Are you ready to conquer another tricky word pair? Today, we’re going to look at flaunt and flout, which can be confusing because they are similar in almost every way: spelling, pronunciation, meaning, and even part of speech. But there are key differences between the two that make it worth knowing when it’s best to use which one.

Flaunt is a verb meaning to show off, and it usually holds the connotation of showing something off in a manner that violates the rules of politeness in order to attract attention. For example, She flaunted her enormous engagement ring in front of her unhappily single cousin. Flout is a verb meaning to openly break or ignore, and it usually refers to a rule or standard of some sort. For example, She flouted the law when she broke into the jewelry store and stole the ring right in front of the security cameras. Both verbs have a sense of flamboyance about them, where the person completing the action is seeking some form of attention, but flaunt has more the sense of bragging about something while flout has more the sense of scornful disregard for a rule.

And now you can stop flouting the rules and instead flaunt your knowledge of the difference between these two words! Until next time!