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
Stalwarts such as Chicago and Philadelphia (each +4%) that never got pricey to begin with are now reaping the benefits of being shunned in the pre-pandemic world.
—
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026
Young voters in particular have shunned Orbán’s hard-right party, mainly over economic concerns and his closeness with Moscow.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Reportedly shunned by festivals like Sundance and SXSW last year and ignored by distributors, this provocative chamber drama finally gets a theatrical release from a fledgling shingle, Obscured Releasing, this spring.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Apr. 2026
Graham eventually created a work called Heretic about a nonconformist woman who is shunned by her community.
—Elizabeth Blair, NPR, 19 Mar. 2026
Ryan and his family were shunned by the community.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly now basically waiting to see what’s next for them after their parents have been completely shunned.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 14 Mar. 2026
After President Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union — once Moscow’s biggest customer — stopped taking Russian oil, and many Western customers also shunned it.
—David McHugh, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026
Young voters in particular have shunned Orbán’s hard-right party, mainly over economic concerns and his closeness with Moscow.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Reportedly shunned by festivals like Sundance and SXSW last year and ignored by distributors, this provocative chamber drama finally gets a theatrical release from a fledgling shingle, Obscured Releasing, this spring.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Apr. 2026
Graham eventually created a work called Heretic about a nonconformist woman who is shunned by her community.
—Elizabeth Blair, NPR, 19 Mar. 2026
Ryan and his family were shunned by the community.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly now basically waiting to see what’s next for them after their parents have been completely shunned.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 14 Mar. 2026
After President Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union — once Moscow’s biggest customer — stopped taking Russian oil, and many Western customers also shunned it.
—David McHugh, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shunned
Verb
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The deficit Gloria had to close increased from $118 million to $146 million this spring because of some new spending that couldn’t be avoided, aides to the mayor said.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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While the broad outlines are fairly clear, dogma should be avoided when dealing with the various types of gladiators.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Redick said watching McIlroy this time around, compared to his first Masters victory last year after the championship had evaded him time and again, was a different experience.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
13 Apr. 2026
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The suspect had evaded law enforcement for more than an hour, at times stopping, after deputies from the Jurupa Valley station tried to make a traffic stop, according to the Sheriff’s Department .—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried it might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same zoo in 2018.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Another novel aspect is that Yarris escaped from custody in 1985, only to be quickly recaptured in Florida and sent back to death row in Pennsylvania.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shunned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shunned. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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