How to Use scofflaw in a Sentence

scofflaw

noun
Definition of scofflawnext
  • This seizure marks the end of the road for these scofflaw ice cream vendors.
    — Kate Gibson, CBS News, 6 June 2019
  • The scofflaws were men and women, young and old, wild hair and no hair.
    — Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The scofflaw in the next seat has always presented a quandary.
    — New York Times, 5 July 2022
  • And watch out for scofflaws who speed, run red lights or tailgate.
    — Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 26 Aug. 2023
  • Nor is there tax money in the five working vaults or scofflaws in the basement jail cell.
    — Cathy Ching, BostonGlobe.com, 3 May 2023
  • While there are scofflaw dealers who sometimes make under-the-counter deals, that is by no means the norm.
    — Philip Cook, CBS News, 3 Oct. 2017
  • The bill also does not say anything about a scofflaw’s mental state.
    — Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Hess said the most concerning part of the current program is the impact to people not on the scofflaw list.
    — Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023
  • The scofflaws in the southern Florida city are hardly alone.
    — Katie Shepherd, Anchorage Daily News, 5 May 2020
  • In its current version, the bill still creates a host of new crimes and threatens scofflaws with jail time and fines.
    — Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 10 May 2023
  • But critics contend that not everyone who fails to pay a toll is a scofflaw.
    — Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2018
  • Never found out if this scofflaw ever got caught or a haircut.
    — Gary Richards, The Mercury News, 24 July 2019
  • The owners of the restaurant begged police not to shoot at any future scofflaws who might break into their kitchen.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity, 10 Oct. 2017
  • The fines for many infractions have also increased since the scofflaw was put into place in 2007.
    — Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023
  • These two elements, alone, show that Thompson is a scofflaw.
    — Star Tribune, 16 July 2021
  • The agency began cracking down on scofflaws in 2017, following years of abuse of the blue placards.
    — Cynthia Hubert, sacbee, 6 July 2018
  • Some of us scofflaws ignore the legality and blow the light after coming to a complete stop, of course.
    — Gary Richards, The Mercury News, 6 June 2019
  • These aren’t people who are trying to shirk their obligations; these aren’t scofflaws.
    — Dan Petrella, chicagotribune.com, 29 July 2019
  • Edward Klein ruled on smugglers, playmates and scofflaws.
    — Howard Cohen, miamiherald, 16 June 2017
  • And the city might get tougher with private citizens who are snow shoveling scofflaws, too.
    — Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2018
  • Police claim that scofflaws are terrorizing people in and out of camps.
    — oregonlive, 31 May 2020
  • People told Byrd, a Weekly Standard reporter, to dump this scofflaw for his crimes against candy.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity, 10 July 2018
  • That the Marin Headlands exists as open space in which a scofflaw mother could let loose two 10-year-old city boys is something of a miracle.
    — Allison Stockman, The Cut, 20 Oct. 2017
  • Records show one of those contracts was extended before the scofflaw list of owners was published.
    — Cecilia Reyes, chicagotribune.com, 11 Oct. 2021
  • Other states and cities have tried to take action to reduce the number of registration scofflaws.
    — Michelle Baruchman, The Seattle Times, 23 July 2018
  • One such scofflaw that gets top billing in Hiltzik’s column is Home Depot, which in June settled a class-action lawsuit over wage theft to the tune of $72.5 million.
    — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Yet, its leaders decided years ago not to issue warnings to snow scofflaws.
    — Maria Panaritis, Philly.com, 17 Jan. 2018
  • The Treasurer’s effort to track down short-term rental scofflaws comes as the city continues to wrestle with how to regulate such rentals.
    — Lori Weisberg, sandiegouniontribune.com, 28 Apr. 2017
  • In too many instances, our treasured places are being overrun by scofflaws who don’t believe in the rules intended to keep them nice.
    — Steve Lipsher, The Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2017
  • State law gives jurisdictions that followed the rules earlier in the process a more leisurely schedule, while tightening the screws on scofflaws.
    — Ben Christopher, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scofflaw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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