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Glite Dictionary
to fly in the face of

to fly in the face of

17 7.6
Openly oppose something, often against common sense or tradition
  • idiom
translation icon : ir en contra de
  • Allowing non-tax funds to be spent on religion would, in fact, fly in the face of clear principle.
  • flies in the face of the fact
  • fly in the face of the law
  • flies in the face of traditional

These claims fly in the face of all financial theory.

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Examples

  • You do realize this flies in the face of 150 years of economic theory?

    A Beautiful Mind (2001)

  • The idea that we promote honesty by removing accountability flies in the face of logic.

    Academic text (2016)

  • These claims fly in the face of all financial theory.

    Patrick Boyle

  • And and it's a way for them to to fly in the face of all the evidence and to argue that they are the victims.

    Triggernometry

  • And he said that for anyone to pretend otherwise would be, and I quote, flying in the face of reality.

  • Most of the official story of this event flies in the face of common sense.

    Blog text (25)

  • Now that finding flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

  • There are just a few facts that fly in the face of your impassioned defense.

    Blog text (16)

  • The implication is that moral teaching cannot be changed—a position that flies in the face of historical fact.

    Academic text (2008)

  • These claims fly in the face of all financial theory, as they contradict widely accepted principles.

Synonyms

to go against
vsto fly in the face of
206 3.3

To act against a rule, law, or popular opinion

means openly oppose or contradict rules or common sense
to defy
vsto fly in the face of
178 3.7

Openly refuse to obey someone or seem to resist a force like time

shows open opposition rather than merely breaking a rule
to flout
vsto fly in the face of
12 7.9

To openly disobey a rule or law to show you do not respect it

expresses open opposition but focuses on contempt rather than mere contradiction
to contravene
vsto fly in the face of
  • Formal
2 8.2

To break a law, rule, or agreement

covers open contradiction but is less formal and more general
to fly in the teeth of
vsto fly in the face of
  • Archaic
8.6

To openly go against usual rules or advice

is a general phrase for openly opposing rules or common sense

Antonyms

to comply
332 3.8

Do what a rule or person asks

to adhere to
79 3.9

To follow rules or instructions

How Defiant

to flout
12 7.9
to fly in the face of
17 7.6
to defy
178 3.7
to contravene
  • Formal
2 8.2
to go against
206 3.3

Surface Forms

fly in the face of infinitive
flying in the face of present participle
flies in the face of third person singular
flew in the face of past
flown in the face of past participle

Morphology

fly + in + the + face + of

Although the constituent words (fly, in, the, face, of) have clear literal meanings, the phrase 'fly in the face of' is an idiomatic/metaphorical construction where 'fly' does not mean literal flying and the combination does not yield the meaning 'openly oppose' by straightforward composition. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would unlikely predict this sense without prior exposure, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

The idiom fly in the face of may come from the image of a bird that flies right into someone's face, a bold, attacking move. That's why the phrase means 'to openly oppose' or 'to go against' something.