shun

(shŭn)

tr.v. shunned, shun·ning, shuns

1. To avoid using, accepting, engaging in, or partaking of: shun someone's advice; shun public recognition; shun fatty foods.

2. To refuse to accept socially; avoid having social contact with: "Oddly, by being one of the few players who spoke candidly about the business of baseball, he was often shunned by the business world itself" (David Grann).

3. To stay away from; not go to: "He shunned the elevator and started up the broad marble stairs" (Frederick Irving Anderson).

[Middle English shunnen, from Old English scunian, to abhor.]

shun′ner n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

shunning - deliberately avoiding; keeping away from or preventing from happening

avoidance, turning away, dodging

rejection - the act of rejecting something; "his proposals were met with rejection"

aversion, averting - the act of turning yourself (or your gaze) away; "averting her gaze meant that she was angry"

escape - an avoidance of danger or difficulty; "that was a narrow escape"

near thing - something that barely avoids failure or disaster

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He walked slowly on; and shunning the roadside like a guilty man, turned into a meadow he well remembered; and covering his face with his hands, threw himself upon the grass.

View in context

'And be here again next Thursday,' continued he, shunning her puzzled gaze.

View in context

Aliyu also noted that he had always promoted local contents and products, adding that citizens would be doing great service to the nation by shunning South African enterprises.

Nigerians Call For Economic Boycott Of South Africa Enterprises

I don't want you to lose your friends, but shunning is cruel and is never the answer.

Shunning problem

In her tribe, unsanctioned actions led to the turning away, or shunning, of the individual who no longer exists as a viable member and Neytiri's words represent the love and acceptance that indicates reconciliation and a return to "family" status.

Family ostracism in Christianity and counseling

He promised those shunning violence would be offered incentives and protection to their families.

New Kunar governor vows to combat graft

"Cash-strapped and time-pressured workers are shunning trips to high-street coffee shops in the recession, opting instead for office vending machines, according to figures out today."

Lessons from the press: how to survive the silly season

ALESSANDRO NESTA could be in for some trouble and strife after shunning Italy's Euro 2008 double-header with the Faroe Islands and Lithuania to get married.

Football: Leaving the Nest; World of FOOTBALL

Beyond the evidence of history, Greif offers a game theory argument that the Maghribi model isn't replicable because it only works within a small community, one where everybody can know everyone else and have a sense of who deserves shunning, through a process akin to that of small-town gossip.

Trading on reputation: stateless justice in the Medieval Mediterranean

Flawlessly recorded in three unabridged formats that include audiocassette ($39.95), CD ($48.00), MP3-CD ($24.95), and superbly narrated by Maruerite Gavin, this engaging trilogy consists of The Shunning (3183, 7 hours) in which Katie Lapp hears a devastating confession from her parents on the eve of her wedding--a confession that unravels the only life she has ever known).

Blackstone Audio, Inc

Tasteful commentary covers the shunning of Diana by the royal family and Diana's increasing fame after her death.

Mattern, Joanne. Princess Diana; a photographic story of a life

High earners are shunning bling-bling and indulging in a passion for second-hand shopping.

High earners go on the rummage