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
The completely unfancied Shaidorov kept his nerve as his rivals tumbled, moving up from fifth to take his country's first figure skating gold, with Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato completing the podium.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
Shun the airport for Interstate 5, where no one could see how I fit into my bucket seat.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
Tokyo silver medallist Scott and Dean will hope to make the Paris final, while Tokyo champion Wang Shun of China is back.
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2024
Prince had Tears running down his Face; he walked forwards in utter Regularity; & Shun, it was as if he had no Body & no Substance to slay.
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.
