shun
verb (used with object)
to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.
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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
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
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
That people began to shun her was the worse part.
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
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
The completely unfancied Shaidorov kept his nerve as his rivals tumbled, moving up from fifth to take his country's first figure skating gold, with Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato completing the podium.
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
To determine which explanation fits, Hideki Asada, a theoretical physicist and Professor at Hirosaki University, and Shun Yamamoto, a researcher at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, have proposed a new approach.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
When I shall tell you this, Shun, your generous Heart shall not question that we considered Means by which we might relieve him of his Suffering.
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
Novack generally shuns them but understands it is a personal preference for those who can afford it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The reason why the father shuns his son is in those images.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
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
Friends say she shuns the limelight in part because of her desire to shield their young children, age seven, four and three.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2025
“He seeks revenge, and yet he shuns it.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
He shunned the shiny sales techniques of the big advertising agencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
Get shunned by your community for your actions.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 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
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 second store bought about a dozen similar records for $2 each, again shunning the other categories.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
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
Brazil's finance minister is shunning the gathering amid tensions with the Trump administration.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Bonnie Dilber, a senior manager of talent acquisition at artificial-intelligence automation company Zapier, said automatically shunning frequent job switchers can mean missing out on a good hire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Rather than shunning Woodhull, Stanton respected her candor and courage.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
