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
Wall Street has shunned Venezuela for a long time.
—
Sarah Min, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2026
His election embodies the ascendance of Muslim Americans in a society that often has shunned them.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 1 Jan. 2026
The way the other Sex Pistols have shunned Lydon in recent years is no surprise to anyone who’s kept up with the band.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
Payakan fought back against the whalers who killed his mother and was shunned by whale and Metkayina society alike.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
But such inadvertent collaboration with an authoritarian administration can have a devastating impact on civic and opposition groups as they are simultaneously targeted by the government and shunned by erstwhile supporters.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2025
Richard’s path has become commonplace in today’s world of college basketball, where high schoolers are initially shunned by powerhouse programs, then coveted by them after spending time developing in the mid-major circuit.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 27 Nov. 2025
Even though all businesses are legally mandated to accept the ZiG it is still often shunned for transactions by locals.
—Tawanda Karombo, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
The Creature, who remains nameless throughout the novel, develops into a sensitive and inquisitive soul, yet one shunned by the world for his appearance.
—Big Think, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shunned
Verb
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The trio avoided politics because Patti's beliefs differed from Ronald and Nancy's conservative perspectives.—
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Some, especially those who deliberately avoided Amazon, said they should have been asked for their consent.—
Verb
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The Ravens would find the endzone once again with nine minutes left in regulation after Lamar Jackson evaded heavy pressure from Pittsburgh's front seven to find Zay Flowers for a 50-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead, 17-13.—
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Out-of-state businesses that evaded city taxes by hiding city business income.—
Verb
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Bella escaped her family’s Houston, Texas, backyard on a rainy New Year's Eve in 2020.—
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The boyfriend and two of the girls died, but the youngest sister escaped.—
Cite this Entry
“Shunned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shunned. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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