Definition

1. Verb:
   • To deliberately avoid and stay away from someone or something; to keep clear of.
   • To persistently reject, ignore, or ostracize.

Usage

The verb shun describes a conscious and purposeful act of avoidance or rejection. It often implies a strong desire to have no contact or association with the target, which can be a person, a place, an activity, or a thing. The avoidance is typically sustained over time.

Examples

• Verb:
  • After the scandal, many of his former friends began to shun him.
  • She shuns all forms of social media.
  • The hermit shunned society and lived alone in the mountains.

Advanced Usage

• "to be shunned by": to be avoided or ostracized by a person or group.
  • He was shunned by the entire community after his betrayal.
• The concept of shunning can be a formal practice in some religious or social groups as a form of discipline or punishment.

Variants and Related Words

• Shunning (n): The act or practice of deliberately avoiding someone or something.
  • The shunning of outsiders was a strict rule of the community.
• Shunned (adj): Describing someone who has been ostracized.
  • He felt like a shunned outcast.

Synonyms

• Avoid: To keep away from.
• Eschew: To deliberately avoid using or abstain from (more formal, often for principles or practices).
• Ostracize: To exclude from a society or group.
• Steer clear of: To avoid something intentionally (idiomatic).

Antonyms

• Seek: To try to find or obtain.
• Embrace: To accept willingly and enthusiastically.
• Welcome: To greet or receive gladly.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To give a wide berth to: To keep a safe distance from someone or something troublesome (idiomatic, similar in meaning to ).
  • She gave a wide berth to office gossip.
• To turn one's back on: To reject, abandon, or refuse to help.
  • He turned his back on his family's business traditions.

Verb

1. expel from a community or group
2. avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of