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:
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
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
And I can also understand why he would shun taking on such a tremendous responsibility.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Shun short-term trading, and stay away from exotic funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
In the men's event, Japan's Shun Sato also retained his title, beating Italy's Daniel Grassl with his "Firebird" routine.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
Think Nadia Comaneci on the balance beam, Dick Fosbury flopping to victory in the high jump or Shun Fujimoto sticking his dismount from rings on a shattered knee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2024
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
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
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
Of course, it's entirely possible that everyone has got it wrong, and Sienna Rose is a real singer who shuns the limelight.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
However much the shocking destruction of neighborhoods, of favorite haunts and of classic L.A. architecture reminds us to cherish history, L.A. remains a city that cavalierly shuns history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 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
Through it all, Walter mostly has shunned attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 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
Back in my mother’s car Sam shunned me for a few minutes because I had left him alone.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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
Brazil's finance minister is shunning the gathering amid tensions with the Trump administration.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 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
Plus, a focus on sperm health, the workers shunning AI and making golf a family affair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
School continued to be a minefield, with kids shunning and mocking me, and I dreaded going there every day.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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.
