What does flaunted mean?
Flaunted is the past tense and past participle of the verb flaunt, which means to display something openly and ostentatiously in order to attract attention or admiration. People may flaunt wealth, possessions, physical attractiveness, accomplishments, or even relationships, and the act is typically judged as vain, immodest, or provocative — a person who flaunted his fortune at a charity dinner, for example, invites criticism rather than envy alone. The word can also describe brazenly ignoring conventions, as when someone flaunted the rules of an institution, though this shade of meaning overlaps confusingly with the separate verb flout, which properly means to defy rules outright. Derived in the early seventeenth century with an uncertain origin, possibly from Scandinavian or Low German sources, flaunted remains a vivid word for conspicuous display and is useful precisely because its connotation of shamelessness colours whatever it describes.
verbFlaunted is the past tense and past participle of the verb flaunt, meaning to display something ostentatiously, especially wealth, beauty, or achievements, in order to attract attention or admiration.
- To have displayed something conspicuously and ostentatiously to attract notice or admiration.
- (Less commonly) To have paraded or brandished something defiantly or without shame.
"She flaunted her new engagement ring at every opportunity."
"The billionaire flaunted his fleet of sports cars outside the hotel."
"Despite the strict dress code, she flaunted convention by arriving in a bright red gown."
Flaunt and flout sound so alike that even professional writers swap them — but one means showing off your diamonds and the other means ignoring the law.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of flaunted
The verb flaunt appeared in English in the early seventeenth century, first recorded around the 1560s–1600s in senses connected with displaying oneself showily. Its exact origin is uncertain: it has been linked to Scandinavian sources and to a Low German word meaning to swagger or display oneself, and some scholars have suggested it arose as an alteration of the older verb flout, meaning to mock or defy. Because of their similar forms and overlapping early senses, flaunt and flout have been confused since at least the eighteenth century, a confusion that persists today.
Related word forms
How flaunted is actually used
Flaunting is generally perceived negatively, implying vanity or immodesty; describing behaviour as 'flaunted' often carries a critical or disapproving tone. The word is common in both British and American English across formal and informal registers.
Easily confused with flaunted
Flouted means openly disregarded or defied a rule or law, whereas flaunted means showily displayed something; the two words are frequently interchanged in error.