eschew

American  

[es-choo] / ɛsˈtʃu /

verb (used with object)

1. to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid.

   to eschew evil.

   Synonyms:

   forgo, boycott, circumvent

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eschew British  

/ ɪsˈtʃuː /

verb

1. (tr) to keep clear of or abstain from (something disliked, injurious, etc); shun; avoid

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Other Word Forms

• eschewal noun
• eschewer noun
• uneschewed adjective

Etymology

Origin of eschew

1300–50; Middle English eschewen < Old French eschiver, eschever < Germanic; compare Old High German sciuhen, German scheuchen, shy ²

Example Sentences

Caravaggio’s “Boy With a Basket of Fruit,” one of his most dazzlingly beautiful juvenilia, bears the sumptuous hallmarks of his bold style and technique, in which he eschewed drawing to paint directly on canvas.

From The Wall Street Journal

During the pandemic, when doctors and medical experts needed to get info out to the public quickly, the peer review process was regularly eschewed and studies were hosted on preprint servers.

From Salon

Leaders of the Group of Seven countries are meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to release emergency oil stockpiles held by major consuming nations after eschewing the idea the previous day.

From Barron's

Her performance in “Vladimir” completely eschewed vanity and instead fixates on what makes this woman go off the rails.

From Los Angeles Times

But the move resulted in Netflix — a company that had previously eschewed big mergers — sweeping in and threatening to leave Paramount even further behind in the ongoing transformation of the media business.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• abandon
• avoid
• forgo
• forswear
• renounce
• shun
• shy away from
• swear off