as in avoids
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 shuns
Altman is a booster for San Francisco, advising its mayor and expanding OpenAI’s offices here, while Musk shuns the city and now lives in Texas.
—
David Ingram, NBC news, 26 Apr. 2026
Mitski lies on the lawn looking at the girl leaving her, like the witch in Into the Woods when Rapunzel shuns her and then gets promptly trampled by a giant.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
The unfortunate truth is that the agency has lost its way and shuns innovation.
—Ross Marchand, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
Vanya is a closeted gay man who shuns intimacy and Sonia is a neurotic spinster who feels unnoticed and unloved.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Laugh is the kind of rap mastery that shuns maximalism for pristine, unadorned poetics.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Instead of a tale of entrapment or escape, Ruth is a story about how a woman full of longing can operate inside a collective that shuns the very notion of wanting.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
David Ingram, NBC news, 26 Apr. 2026
Mitski lies on the lawn looking at the girl leaving her, like the witch in Into the Woods when Rapunzel shuns her and then gets promptly trampled by a giant.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
The unfortunate truth is that the agency has lost its way and shuns innovation.
—Ross Marchand, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
Vanya is a closeted gay man who shuns intimacy and Sonia is a neurotic spinster who feels unnoticed and unloved.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
Laugh is the kind of rap mastery that shuns maximalism for pristine, unadorned poetics.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Instead of a tale of entrapment or escape, Ruth is a story about how a woman full of longing can operate inside a collective that shuns the very notion of wanting.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shuns
Verb
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Rideshare and taxis are widely available too, but light rail avoids the post-match traffic gridlock.—
Allison Palmer,
Sacbee.com,
1 May 2026
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Charles, who is the British head of state but not the head of government, typically avoids politics in public.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Mr Cobra evades most classification from there, blending free jazz, musique concrète, ’00s pop, house, industrial techno, and air horns, interlaced with dialogue snipped from Korean folk operas and experimental films.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
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But even if Booker’s appearance evades the FCC’s scrutiny, the commission is closely watching TV talk programs, with The View in particular a subject of interest.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Farm stays are far from new, but travelers are showing a resounding new interest in rural, back-to-the-land escapes.—
Jen Murphy,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Apr. 2026
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Austin escapes the clinic through the ceiling and calls Eunice from a cab to the police station.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shuns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shuns. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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