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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Recent Examples of shunned
People are entitled to their opinion and nobody should be shunned for it.
—
Elizabeth Heckman, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
The bills do not require developers to build affordable, accessible housing on a statewide basis and the SSMMA says developers have long shunned certain communities in the south suburbs, in Chicago and historically Black and brown communities.
—Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Its leaders have been working to rebuild relations with Arab and Western countries that had shunned Syria under former President Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by rebels, who then installed a new government.
—Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Its leaders have been working to rebuild relations with Arab and Western countries that had shunned Syria under former President Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by rebels, who then installed a new government.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
But after being shunned by head coach Thomas Frank, his confidence looks low, a state of mind that wasn’t helped by putting his penalty over the bar in Wales’ World Cup play-off shootout defeat by Bosnia & Herzegovina in March.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Given this, the bigger question is why the word hasn’t been shunned by the remaining 80 percent of us.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
None of the three had anything to do with the crimes committed by their husbands, but they’ve all been shunned by neighbors and friends, and viewed as accomplices by outsiders.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Fairfax later tried to run for governor, some said to clear his name, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats.
—Arkansas Online, 16 Apr. 2026
Elizabeth Heckman, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
The bills do not require developers to build affordable, accessible housing on a statewide basis and the SSMMA says developers have long shunned certain communities in the south suburbs, in Chicago and historically Black and brown communities.
—Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Its leaders have been working to rebuild relations with Arab and Western countries that had shunned Syria under former President Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by rebels, who then installed a new government.
—Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Its leaders have been working to rebuild relations with Arab and Western countries that had shunned Syria under former President Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by rebels, who then installed a new government.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
But after being shunned by head coach Thomas Frank, his confidence looks low, a state of mind that wasn’t helped by putting his penalty over the bar in Wales’ World Cup play-off shootout defeat by Bosnia & Herzegovina in March.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Given this, the bigger question is why the word hasn’t been shunned by the remaining 80 percent of us.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
None of the three had anything to do with the crimes committed by their husbands, but they’ve all been shunned by neighbors and friends, and viewed as accomplices by outsiders.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Fairfax later tried to run for governor, some said to clear his name, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats.
—Arkansas Online, 16 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shunned
Verb
-
Whether the Michael sequel will come to fruition and cover any of this uncharted territory—or flash back to territory that was avoided in the first film, like the entirety of The Wiz—is heretofore unknown.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
-
Schwarzenegger’s strategy energized Californians who wanted to punish incumbent Democrats, but avoided scaring too many of the state’s median voters.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Ilango had successfully evaded the decades-old impossibility result.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
11 May 2026
-
The Knicks have found the very consistency that’s evaded them in the past.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Stray bits of hair escaped my ponytail and stung my eyes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
-
The injured duckling was treated at a veterinary clinic while the other ducklings escaped the area with the mother duck.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shunned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shunned. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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