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

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Shun ² American  

[shoon] / ʃun /

noun

Wade-Giles, Pinyin.

1. Yao1

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'shun ¹ British  

/ ʃʌn /

interjection

1. military a clipped form of attention

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shun ² British  

/ ʃʌn /

verb

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

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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

Retail investors became net sellers of individual stocks for the first time in nine months, shunning energy and other tech sectors.

From Barron's

Before Khomenei, respected Shiite clerics had shunned the idea of clerical rule.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rather than shun the growing underground of youthful hackers, he had been attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club, where young Altair and Commodore users met to trade their tiny software programs and swap lore.

From Los Angeles Times

Jobless claims tell investors virtually nothing about whether businesses are hiring, but they clearly show most companies are shunning big layoffs.

From MarketWatch

Activist investors, once shunned by Japanese management, have gained more mainstream recognition over the years as the government has pressed companies to communicate better with investors and to improve capital efficiency.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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