shun
verb (used with object)
to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.
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shun
1 American
[shuhn]
/ ʃʌn /
verb (used with object)
-
shuns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shunned,
past participle, past
-
shunning
present participle
Shun
2
American
[shoon]
/ ʃun /
noun
Wade-Giles, Pinyin.
'shun
1
British
/ ʃʌn /
interjection
shun
2
British
/ ʃʌn /
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shunsimple
-
shunssimple
-
have shunnedperfect
-
has shunnedperfect
-
am shunningprogressive
-
are shunningprogressive
-
is shunningprogressive
-
have been shunningperfect progressive
-
has been shunningperfect progressive
Past
-
shunnedsimple
-
had shunnedperfect
-
was shunningprogressive
-
were shunningprogressive
-
had been shunningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shun
First recorded before 950; Middle English shunen, Old English scunian “to avoid, fear”
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing shun
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Persepolis
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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:
Loner Jay has grown up to shun his father’s interests — or anyone’s help, period — an independence that, should he survive, he may come to realize isn’t so different from his dad after all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
It’s not something to shun and shy away and run away from.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
The coffeehouse opened in June near a neighbourhood of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who strictly shun working, exchanging money and using electricity on Saturdays.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
You don't need to shun your favourite coffee either just because it's hot - although too much caffeine can make the body produce more urine, and leave you dehydrated.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Never one to shun free publicity, Bloom accepted instantly and traveled to the club with a dozen of his dancers.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2026
Ping Shun, another sanctioned vessel owned by a company based in Shandong in China which normally exports to that country, loaded 600,000 barrels of oil from Kharg and is also in the Gulf of Oman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
With tennis great Novak Djokovic watching in the crowd in Milan, Malinin produced too much complexity in his routine for his Japanese opponent, Shun Sato.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 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
When I shall tell you this, Shun, your generous Heart shall not question that we considered Means by which we might relieve him of his Suffering.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
The national temperament is cautious and bent to 'shun the falsehood of extremes.'
From The Winning of Popular Government A Chronicle of the Union of 1841 by Archibald MacMechan
Novack generally shuns them but understands it is a personal preference for those who can afford it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
"A palace not fit for a King," continues the Daily Express, as King Charles "shuns" Buckingham Palace "despite £369m refurbishment".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Rubio, on his first-ever visit to India, flew to Agra and spent 45 minutes at the Taj Mahal with his wife Jeanette, who usually shuns the spotlight.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
“I think it’s very important that the publisher — the novel-making community, if I can put it like that — embraces that sense of risk rather than shuns it,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025
And yet, whenever his pain made him harden his heart against her and bid himself, “Milk the ewe you have; why pursue what shuns you?”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
To carry out the repatriation plan, he has welcomed Min Aung Hlaing -- previously shunned and credited with ordering the 2017 crackdown that sent legions of Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia in the first place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
And with that, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, was thrust into a media spotlight he has largely shunned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Facing stiff competition for market share and looking for relevance, Paze is turning to an unlikely group—the holdouts and technophobes who have so far shunned digital wallets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But the sell-out event, which cost £44 a ticket, shunned the long-standing belief that red wine is only properly served when at room temperature.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The firm shunned those who came seeking a defense of indefensible behavior, which was common enough in the unprincipled corridors of the financial district.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The First Amendment prevents government censorship, but one reason there are social penalties, including criticism, shunning and firing for hateful rhetoric, is that it is not, in fact, harmless.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
On a sector basis, only semiconductors are meaningfully owned, mostly as a consequence of ASML, while investors are shunning automakers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Traditionally, he says, men "almost need a bit of a scare" to start trying to shed the pounds, seeing it as something private and shunning the more social approach some women prefer, like slimming clubs.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Xi has centralized decision-making, shunning foreign counsel for five-year plans, and empowered the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
It’s funny: the whole time she was shunning me, I was fixated on her charm bracelet.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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