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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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:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to eschew suits for military-style clothing is driven by his desire to show solidarity for soldiers fighting the Russians.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Like other Chinese chatbots, DeepSeek's AI tools eschew topics usually censored in the world's second-largest economy, such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 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
“NAZA” eschews probing for guilty feelings, though, because the point is to unearth a process of obliteration: how it works and what it looks like as implemented by the willing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The cover of “Communion” eschews the grandeur of a Catholic cathedral, in favor of a photograph of a humble Methodist chapel in a rural part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
Farrell eschews owning data centers, preferring AI-adjacent exposure through power generation, reasoning that markets underappreciate data centers’ high risk for technology obsolescence.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
No portfolio manager picking the winners from AI’s advances across the economy gets attention quite like Aschenbrenner, despite the fact that he eschews public appearances and rarely posts on X.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
"Success here is one thing, Nibbāna another:" When a monk, the Buddha's disciple, is sure Of this truth, he delights not in honour, eschews The ways of the world and lives a recluse.
From The Buddha's Path of Virtue A Translation of the Dhammapada by Frank Lee Woodward
Speaking about "my dot," Altman almost entirely eschewed referring to the tool as an agent, which has been in common use for years.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 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
Each company’s situation is unique, of course. Amazon.com and Tesla have long eschewed buybacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
He eschewed the opportunity to become a free agent by signing a $426.5 million extension in 2019 that committed him to Anaheim through 2030.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
As a result, Inka roads eschewed valley bottoms and used long stone stairways to climb up steep hills directly—brutal on horses’ hooves, as the conquistadors often complained.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
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
Musk offered investors a “take-it-or-leave-it” price of $135 a share, eschewing the usual approach of providing a price range and refining it based on investor feedback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Some drivers are squeezing more miles out of their vehicles and eschewing new rides because of sticker shock, high interest rates and economic jitters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Not completely eschewing the values he was taught at 26 Markt.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
