eschew
Americanverb (used with object)
-
eschews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
eschewed,
past participle, past
-
eschewing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
eschewsimple
-
eschewssimple
-
have eschewedperfect
-
has eschewedperfect
-
am eschewingprogressive
-
are eschewingprogressive
-
is eschewingprogressive
-
have been eschewingperfect progressive
-
has been eschewingperfect progressive
Past
-
eschewedsimple
-
had eschewedperfect
-
was eschewingprogressive
-
were eschewingprogressive
-
had been eschewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of eschew
1300–50; Middle English eschewen < Old French eschiver, eschever < Germanic; compare Old High German sciuhen, German scheuchen, shy 2
Explanation
If you eschew something, you deliberately avoid it. If you love the hustle and bustle of a big city, then most likely you eschew the suburbs. Eschew comes from a word meaning "dread," or "shun." So to eschew something isn’t simply to avoid it, the way you would avoid walking in a puddle — it's stronger than that. You eschew things that you find morally or aesthetically wrong, or that you have chosen to find wrong. Some people eschew processed food and sugary drinks due to health reasons and others eschew using social media during work in order to stay focused.
Vocabulary lists containing eschew
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This Week in Words: April 1 - 6, 2018
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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.
See Examples For:
One plan being considered by LA28 organizers would eschew the existing locker rooms in favor of temporary modular structures, the sources said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
That decision to eschew the approach led to the departure of Michael Edwards last month - the former Liverpool sporting director had been rehired by FSG in order to lead the multi-club project.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
In their day, Dylan and The Beatles challenged each other not only to eschew taking their own inherent greatness for granted, but to accept the risks that being a true artist demands.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2026
One of the latest entrants is Slate Auto, a startup that plans to offer a compact electric truck that eschew tech extras as much as possible—even lacking a stereo and power windows—for about $25,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
I was uninjured, and since pride is a Deadly Sin which I feel I generally eschew, absolutely nothing was hurt.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Webb eschews the Wagnerian method of film scoring—dark motifs for the evil characters, bright tunes for the good ones—in favor of fluid, shifting psychological music, a forerunner of Hitchcock’s scores with Bernard Herrmann.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Released by independent Angel Studios, known as a faith-based operation that eschews traditional Hollywood approaches, the film features stars Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis and Mary-Louise Parker and showcases William Franklyn-Mille as Washington.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
But the bigger lie is Shirley presenting himself as a “journalist,” when he eschews basic responsibility to the facts.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
And she most definitely eschews any modern microloan payment methods like buy-now-pay-later.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
The doctrine of outward equality he eschews as a barrier to all ambition, and to all improvement.
From Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
Vermeer eschewed easy narrative deduction, Mr. Graham-Dixon writes, by substituting the map with a blank wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
SpaceX has eschewed the traditional IPO range, opting for a fixed $135 price, and it has allocated more stock than usual to Musk’s army of retail investors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
“Plan 75” eschewed dystopian-thriller conventions to ponder how Japan might one day treat its senior citizens, viewing them as little more than a drain on resources.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
He eschewed the trappings of wealth — driving an eight-year-old Honda — motivated instead by a “desire to compete, excel and keep struggling to do better.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Here was a show that eschewed what turns out to be the most important of all ways of reaching young children.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Anthropic has decided to keep its Claude chatbot ad-free, eschewing what has become a cash cow for OpenAI and other Big Tech companies.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
While now eschewing the imperial strife of European colonists, the Five Nations waged their own “mourning wars” against the Catawbas and Cherokees of the south.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Everyone indulged in prodigious scenery-chewing, eschewing any subtlety that Puccini built into this tear-jerking piece in favor of all-around bludgeoning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Droll and thoughtful, “Wonder Man” is Marvel’s most grounded offering yet, largely eschewing spectacle to focus on the insecurities of a guy who fears he’ll never get his big break.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Henceforth, if one aspired to be considered a member of the Himalayan elite, eschewing bottled oxygen was mandatory.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
