First recorded before 950; Middle English shunen, Old English scunian “to avoid, fear”
If you purposely stay away from someone, you shun that person. A sensitive baker may ask why you are shunning her cookies. Although the verb shun means to deliberately avoid anything, it has a specific meaning in certain groups and communities. In this case, it means to ostracize or expel from that group or community. The Amish, for example, may shun members of their order who repeatedly ignore the beliefs and rules of Amish society. The word may also be used in more casual group settings. After many attempts at being polite, you and your friends began to shun the obnoxious classmate who never let you get a word in edgewise.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shun short-term trading, and stay away from exotic funds.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026
Japanese bronze medallist Shun Sato on Friday blamed the "toxic schedule" of Olympic men's figure skating for US favourite Ilia Malinin's shocking slump off the podium.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
To determine which explanation fits, Hideki Asada, a theoretical physicist and Professor at Hirosaki University, and Shun Yamamoto, a researcher at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, have proposed a new approach.
From Science Daily • Oct. 15, 2025
I fear, Shun, faith — look ye, I fear he is fled from some tyrant Master, which is Capt. Draper’s Belief.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
