shun
verb (used with object)
to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.
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:
It’s not something to shun and shy away and run away from.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
Cat said that while many teenagers shun spending time with their parents, she knows first-hand how lonely it is to not have your parents around.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
—Bitcoin fell as hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz fade, causing investors to shun risky assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The universe, it’s all mathematics and science, and I shouldn’t shun the science of music just because I think the inspiration is all it should be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
“I wonder. You may shun me if you know the truth.”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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
Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, second after the short programme, also fell during his routine, but took silver ahead of compatriot Shun Sato who moved up from ninth.
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
Oh, Shun, you scarce can think of the Panic this Word occasioned.
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
"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
She shuns luxury, is known for wearing simple white cotton sarees and flip-flops, and is called simply Didi, or older sister.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Anderson mostly shuns campaigning, preferring the work to speak for itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
Kouki said he likes using his phone to watch Japanese baseball highlights, but the family now shuns screens during mealtimes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
“He shuns the company of all and will see no one,” Horatio said, giving me a regretful look.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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
Vote counting was under way early Friday after an unusual English by-election shunned by mainstream parties, pitting influential hard-right leader Nigel Farage against Count Binface, a man with a rubbish bin on his head.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 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
In short, I lived the life of the shunned, forever cast aside, yet looking on, curious as to how others lived.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
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
Others accused them of romanticising self isolation and encouraging an "air of cosy defeatism" by shunning social connections.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The 2019-founded company builds AI models for businesses and governments, shunning the consumer applications explored by its giant American rivals.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
I thought about shunning her for temporarily forgetting about me, but what good would that do?
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
