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:
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
Nor should it shun folks from the baking community.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
The other is strong U.S. economic growth, which encourages investors to bet on riskier SpaceX-like stocks and shun safe assets such as Treasuries.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
The latter needs to embrace, not shun, the former.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Shuttled from one specialist to the next, the girl had been prescribed to shun garlic, consume disproportionate quantities of bitters, meditate, drink green coconut water, and swallow raw duck’s eggs beaten in milk.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Shun short-term trading, and stay away from exotic funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 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
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
A search and rescue operation is underway to find the remaining six Burmese sailors who were reported missing after their Tanzania-flagged cargo ship Fu Shun went down off the northern coast of Taiwan.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
You are welcome to Shem, Shun, when he returns Home decorated — his feet like Hives a-weeping Honey.
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
Scott follows an almost entirely vegan diet, shuns processed foods, and prefers to fast in the mornings.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Its executives say it only does deals in jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Bermuda and that it shuns places like the Cayman Islands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
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
“He shuns the company of all and will see no one,” Horatio said, giving me a regretful look.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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
Lenders had shunned the category just a few years ago, with investors and analysts warning of a wave of defaults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"I probably would have had a little bit more time in between to recover, I pretty much shunned the back-to-back because we need to go back to work," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
But one aspect of a fair justice system is for wrongdoers to face proportionate consequences—not to be shunned forever, but to be expected to own up, make amends, and, sometimes, pay a penalty.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
I looked up at him: he shunned my eye.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Others accused them of romanticising self isolation and encouraging an "air of cosy defeatism" by shunning social connections.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 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
And Sass isn’t even completely shunning the Magnificent Seven.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
Jobless claims tell investors virtually nothing about whether businesses are hiring, but they clearly show most companies are shunning big layoffs.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
It was the first time I had openly mentioned the shunning to her.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
