fleer
/flɪə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.90 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One who flees.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "LEONATO. Tush, tush, man! never fleer and jest at me: I speak not like a dotard nor a fool, As, under privilege of age, to brag What I have done being young, or what would do, Were I not old."
- "[…] he that writes a Play exposes himself without any Advantage to a parcel of fleering Criticks, who wonder at any Man for attempting so difficult a Business, and are only disappointed when he succeeds in’t."
- "[I]n short, sneering and fleering at him in her cold barren way[.]"
- "In the time of popery, before the gospel came amongst us, we went to burials with weeping and wailing, as though there were no God: but since the gospel came unto us, I have heard say, that in some places they go with the corses grinning and flearing, as though they went to a bear-baiting;[…]"
- "[…] And flattery tipt with nauseous fleer, And guilty shame, and servile fear, Envy, and cruelty, and pride, Will in your tainted heart preside."
- "Which fear of the fleers away was no less ignominious, then if[…]they had turned their backs to the enemie."
Etymology
Possibly from a Scandinavian source, compare Norwegian bokmål flire (“to giggle”), Jutish Danish flire.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /flɪə/
- British English: /flɪə/