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TOEIC Link Part 5: flaunt versus flout

Flaunt means to display something showily. Flout means to openly disregard a rule. The two verbs sound similar and both suggest defiance of social norms, but flaunt is about showing off, while flout is about breaking rules.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: flaunt versus flout

Flaunt and flout are a notorious near-twin pair, and even native writers swap them. They sound alike and both carry a whiff of defiance, but they describe different actions. Flaunt means to display something showily, to show off. Flout means to openly disregard a rule, law, or convention. In Part 5, flaunt takes something you possess and want others to see (wealth, talent, a new title), while flout takes something you are supposed to obey (a rule, a policy, a deadline). For another pair where the object of the verb decides the answer, see adverse versus averse, and for a stern formal-tone twin, see imply versus infer.

The core rule: show off versus break a rule

  • flaunt (verb) = to display ostentatiously: The executive flaunted her designer watch at the conference.
  • flout (verb) = to openly defy or ignore a rule: The contractor flouted the safety regulations.

A memory hook: flaunt has the au of vaunt — to vaunt is to boast, and flaunting is boasting with display. Flout rhymes with shout — you all but shout that you will not obey.

How to read the slot

The object of the verb is the tell.

  • flaunt takes something desirable that the subject owns or has achieved — wealth, success, a relationship, a credential: flaunt his promotion, flaunt their profits. If the slot means parade or show off an asset, choose flaunt.
  • flout takes a rule, law, norm, or authority — something meant to be followed: flout the dress code, flout the convention, flout the law. If the slot means openly ignore an obligation, choose flout.

So the fastest test: is the object something to show off (flaunt), or something to obey (flout)? Display is flaunt; defiance of a rule is flout.

Common Part 5 traps

  • "(blank) the regulations / the policy / the law" is flout. A rule as the object signals flout: the firm flouted environmental standards.
  • "(blank) their wealth / her success / his talent" is flaunt. A possession or achievement as the object signals flaunt: he flaunted his bonus.
  • The idiom "if you have it, flaunt it" is the show-off sense. It never means break a rule.
  • Watch for figurative rule-breaking. Flout the deadline, flout tradition, flout authority — any norm or expectation can be flouted, even when no written law exists.

Quick check

Decide whether the slot means show off a possession (flaunt) or openly disregard a rule (flout), then choose.

  • The startup repeatedly __ the city's zoning rules. → flouted (disregard a rule)
  • At the gala, several guests __ their newest jewelry. → flaunted (show off a possession)
  • Drivers who __ the speed limit face steep fines. → flout (disregard a rule)

If the object is something to display, it is flaunt; if the object is a rule or norm to be obeyed, it is flout. For a related verb pair that also turns on cause versus result, review affect versus effect.