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.
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
Nor should it shun folks from the baking community.
From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026
Totalling around 1,200 people, these include the Nicobarese as well as the Shompen, hunter-gatherers who shun contact with outsiders, who Survival describes as "one of the most isolated peoples on Earth."
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Chief Financial Officer Roxanne Warner said U.S. consumer confidence nosedived after the war, leading shoppers to shun higher-priced models.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
What if the other students shun me because I’m so much older than them?
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
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.
