as in to avoid
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
just a ruse to shun the debt collectors
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Recent Examples of shun
The island is home to the Shompen, an indigenous people numbering between 200 and 400, who shun contact with outsiders and are among the last hunters, gatherers, and cultivators.
—
M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Record attack drone launches are designed to overwhelm Kyiv’s defenses, and the deaths of children in the city (another infant was killed in an apartment building alongside her mother Sunday) are the one thing Trump seems to feel acutely – bar being complimented or shunned by Putin.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Xi was flanked by Putin and Kim, two brutal and aggressive dictators whom many nations would rather shun.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
The leaders of North Korea, China and Russia met in a show of solidarity by nations shunned by the West over their role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Europe’s worst conflict in 80 years.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shun
M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Record attack drone launches are designed to overwhelm Kyiv’s defenses, and the deaths of children in the city (another infant was killed in an apartment building alongside her mother Sunday) are the one thing Trump seems to feel acutely – bar being complimented or shunned by Putin.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Xi was flanked by Putin and Kim, two brutal and aggressive dictators whom many nations would rather shun.
—Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
The leaders of North Korea, China and Russia met in a show of solidarity by nations shunned by the West over their role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Europe’s worst conflict in 80 years.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shun
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shun
Verb
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Republicans, who say school security and improving mental health services are the best way to avoid future tragedies, have firmly opposed any new gun control measures.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
20 Sep. 2025
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Nabbing that last prize requires more hot talk, sharply pointed commentary and treading territory Carson usually avoided.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rather than provide food or temporary shelter for such workers in the colder months, municipalities would round them up and remove them, to save money and evade any responsibility to aid them.—
Time,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
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In Milwaukee, Kellner said that around 33% of bus riders have evaded paying fares in 2025 but that the agency has identified a few cost-neutral strategies targeted at reducing fare evasion down to 30% by September 2026, the same rate of evasion busses saw in 2024.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In this week's PEOPLE cover story, Elvis' ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, sets the record straight on the conspiracies that the King of Rock 'n' Roll is still alive and faked his death at age 42 in 1977, in order to escape fame.—
Brianne Tracy,
PEOPLE,
20 Sep. 2025
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West Ham United is aiming to escape the Premier League's relegation zone when an undefeated Crystal Palace visits the London Stadium on Saturday.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shun. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
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