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Something to chew on: there’s no etymological relationship between the verbs chew and eschew. While the former comes from the Old English word cēowan, eschew comes instead from the Anglo-French verb eschiver and shares roots with the Old High German verb sciuhen, meaning “to frighten off.” In his famous dictionary of 1755, Samuel Johnson characterized eschew as “almost obsolete.” History has proven that the great lexicographer was wrong on that call, however. Today, following a boom in the word’s usage during the 19th and 20th centuries, English speakers and writers use eschew when something is avoided less for temperamental reasons than for moral or practical ones, even if misguidedly so, as when Barry Lopez wrote in his 2019 book Horizon of ill-fated Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, “with an attitude of cultural superiority, eschewing sled dogs for Manchurian ponies....”
Examples of eschew in a Sentence
Sue Halpern, New York Review of Books, 29 May 2003
A fair number of academics eschew the simple title "professor" and call themselves economists, astronomers, historians, philosophers.
—Tracy Kidder, Home Town, 1999
When introduced to a stranger, he eschewed formalities, stuck out a gnarled right hand and responded with a chummy, "Hermann."
—Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 2 Feb. 1998
They now eschew the violence of their past.
a psychologist who eschews the traditional methods of psychotherapy
Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2025
To rebuild a consensus, politicians must thus appeal to these swing voters by eschewing moralistic and globalist rhetoric.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Soglow’s first New Yorker cartoon was published nine months into the magazine’s existence, and his increasingly spare aesthetic, which eschewed text and favored a clean, elegant line, was a harbinger of a style that became immensely popular.
—Emma Allen, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has long eschewed a corporate headquarters — but appears to be putting down roots in Abu Dhabi.
—Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for eschew
Cite this Entry
“Eschew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eschew. Accessed 23 Dec. 2025.
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