shun

[shuhn]

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verb (used with object), shunned, shun·ning.

to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.

Origin of shun

before 950; Middle English shunen, Old English scunian to avoid, fear

Related formsshun·na·ble, adjectiveshun·ner, nounun·shun·na·ble, adjectiveun·shunned, adjective

Synonyms for shun

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evade, eschew.

Antonyms for shun

seek.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for shunned

despise, disdain, eschew, refuse, snub, reject, scorn, neglect, dodge, shy, cut, decline, shake, double, escape, bilk, evade, elude, stall, duck

Examples from the Web for shunned

Contemporary Examples of shunned

Before Cuba was shunned and sanctioned, it was a handy place for the randy.
Will Hyman Roth Return to Havana With Normalized Relations?
John L. Smith
December 18, 2014
Now the center was being used for “Ebola orphans” – lost children, shunned children, distressed children.
The Life of a Liberian Child with Ebola
Sarah Crowe
November 5, 2014
By contrast, in the 2010 midterm election, the GOP embraced super PACs while Democrats shunned them.
Dark Money Will Decide Which Party Controls the Senate
Center for Public Integrity
October 24, 2014
Women Living with Incurable STDs, argues that women are more often shunned when it comes to an STI.
The Silent Shame of HPV
Emily Shire
August 29, 2014
Or the person may have been sustained, but mercilessly mocked and shunned in life.
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages
Elizabeth Picciuto
July 22, 2014

Historical Examples of shunned

In June the florist's shop is a poor place, sedulously to be shunned.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Hannah, as she moves up and down, is shunned as a person infected.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
To keep faith with John and Milly, should I have shunned him?
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
He was puzzled, for people, while they shunned him, did not appear uncivil.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
His manner to Vargrave was distant; he shunned all tete-a-tetes with his wife.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for shunned

shun

verb shuns, shunning or shunned

(tr) to avoid deliberately; keep away from

Derived Formsshunnable, adjectiveshunner, noun

Word Origin for shun

Old English scunian, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shunned

shun

Old English scunian "to shun, avoid; abhor; desist, abstain; to hide, seek safety by concealment," of uncertain origin; not found in any other language. Perhaps ultimately from PIE root *skeu- "to cover, to hide." Related: Shunned; shunning. A shun-pike (American English, 1911) was a road constructed to avoid tolls.