Synonyms

eschew

American

[es-choo] / ɛsˈtʃu /

verb (used with object)

to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid.

to eschew evil.

Synonyms:

forgo, boycott, circumvent

eschew British

/ ɪsˈtʃuː /

verb

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Heat” eschews orange in favor of darker blues and greens.

From Los Angeles Times

He shook up the movie business in much the same way by eschewing traditional long and broad theatrical releases, which weren’t consumer-friendly in his view.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many startups had eschewed going public in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal

By eschewing inefficient long twos, Curry and Harden became the two most lethal scorers in the NBA.

From The Wall Street Journal

His just-in-time epiphany leads him to do the very thing he has spent his whole career eschewing: substitute a simple calculus of immediate military advantage for legalistic code.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023