SHUNNED Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

shunned

verb

past tense of shun

as in avoided

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shunned Azcona, 47, said those who visit her botanica for blessings and spiritual cleansings have felt shunned in traditional religious settings, either because of their sexuality, tattoos or other factors. —

Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 7 June 2026 Consumer staples, healthcare — The sectors were bright spots in Friday’s sell-off as investors shunned tech names for defensive corners of the market. —

Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 5 June 2026 Although Eli could have divorced his wife, he would have been shunned by the Amish community. —

Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026 He was shunned by his homeland and called a traitor. —

Tim Spiers, New York Times, 1 June 2026 Everyone thinks that the family has, like, shunned him and won't have anything to do with him, but that's not actually the case. —

Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 31 May 2026 Lukashenko has few geopolitical friends left in Europe aside from Putin, largely shunned by his neighbors over his rights record and actions on Ukraine. —

Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 30 May 2026 Located on the South Island of New Zealand, the Gloriavale Christian Community was founded in 1969 by a traveling preacher with extremely fundamentalist ideas; women are subservient to men, all citizens wear uniforms, and people who leave are shunned forever. —

K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026 Hijras are regarded within Hindu society with a degree of ambivalence—they are often feared and shunned while also considered to possess religious power to confer fertility on newborns and newlyweds in ritual contexts. —

Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shunned

Verb

As the family entered the intersection, Erickson drove by them and avoided a collision.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
With roughly 55% of the vote counted by early Wednesday, Gallagher avoided a runoff and secured the seat in the heavily Republican 1st Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 3 June 2026