shun

¹ American  

[shuhn] / ʃʌn /

verb (used with object)

shunned, shunning

1. to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.

   Synonyms:

   eschew, evade

   Antonyms:

   seek

---

Shun ² American  

[shoon] / ʃun /

noun

Wade-Giles, Pinyin.

1. Yao1

---

'shun ¹ British  

/ ʃʌn /

interjection

1. military a clipped form of attention

---

shun ² British  

/ ʃʌn /

verb

1. (tr) to avoid deliberately; keep away from

---

Other Word Forms

• shunnable adjective
• shunner noun
• unshunnable adjective

Etymology

Origin of shun

First recorded before 950; Middle English shunen, Old English scunian “to avoid, fear”

Example Sentences

But even while Charlie longs to recross the wine dark sea to America, he ought to take solace in Homer’s words: “No man or woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Orson Welles didn’t shun technology in “Citizen Kane”; he pioneered deep-focus cinematography, added ceilings to sets for unprecedented angles, manipulated lighting for psychological texture, and cut time with “lightning mixes” that astonished audiences.

From The Wall Street Journal

Venture-capital firms based in China are raising U.S. dollar-denominated funds to deploy in AI investments, and U.S. endowments that shunned China for years are weighing a return, according to fund managers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Carrington, long shunned by the mainstream, is having a moment, as is clear from her well-received exhibition in Milan and the small presentation of her output at Gallery Wendi Norris’s booth.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The only thing that gets you shunned in New York society is poverty."

From BBC

Related Words

• despise
• disdain
• eschew
• neglect
• pass up
• refuse
• reject
• scorn
• snub