fly in the face of

verb

go against

-

This action flies in the face of the agreement

• Syn: ↑fly in the teeth of

• Hypernyms: ↑violate, ↑go against, ↑break

• Verb Frames:

-

Something ——s something

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phrasal or fly in the teeth of

: to act forthrightly or brazenly in a way that shows small respect and usually contempt for

flying in the face of convention

flying in the face of other people's rights

flying in the teeth of accepted opinion — F.L.Allen

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fly in the face of

To oppose or defy

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Main Entry: ↑face

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fly in the face of

1. To insult (obsolete)

2. To oppose or defy

3. To be at variance with

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Main Entry: ↑fly

* * *

be openly at variance with (what is usual or expected)

a need to fly in the face of convention

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fly in the face of — see ↑fly, 1

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Main Entry: ↑face

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fly in the face of (also US fly in the teeth of)

: to fail completely to agree with (something) : to oppose or contradict (something) directly

His explanation flies in the face of the evidence. [=his explanation is not supported at all by the evidence]

a theory that flies in the face of logic [=a theory that is not logical at all]

a policy that flies in the face of reason [=a policy that is extremely unreasonable]

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Main Entry: ↑fly