scofflaw

scoff·law

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [skawf-law, skof-]
- /ˈskɔfˌlɔ, ˈskɒf-/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [skawf-law, skof-]
- /ˈskɔfˌlɔ, ˈskɒf-/

Definitions of scofflaw word

noun scofflaw a person who flouts the law, especially one who fails to pay fines owed. 1
noun scofflaw a person who flouts rules, conventions, or accepted practices. 1
countable noun scofflaw If you refer to someone as a scofflaw, you mean that they refuse to obey the law, for example, by failing to pay their debts or by ignoring minor legal regulations. 0
noun scofflaw a person who habitually flouts or violates the law, esp one who fails to pay debts or answer summonses 0
noun scofflaw a habitual or flagrant violator of laws, esp. traffic or liquor laws 0

See all 5 definitions of scofflaw

Information block about the term

Origin of scofflaw

First appearance:

before 1920

One of the 12% newest English words

First recorded in 1920-25; scoff1 + law1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Scofflaw

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Scofflaw

scofflaw popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 53% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

scofflaw usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for scofflaw

noun scofflaw

bad actor — a mean, ill-tempered, troublemaking, or evil person.
criminal — A criminal is a person who regularly commits crimes.
deuce — Deuce is the score in a game of tennis when both players have forty points. One player has to win two points one after the other to win the game.
guerilla — a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.
lawbreaker — a person who breaks or violates the law.

All 9 Synonyms of scofflaw