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
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
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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Human interest Sending robots to space avoids having to deal with risks to human health.—
Scott Solomon,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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Keeping your conversion within a range that avoids IRMAA thresholds protects your Medicare costs alongside your tax bill.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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But how does one set out to write a biography about the creation of an author who not only can’t be reached, but actively evades the spotlight?—
Costa Beavin Pappas,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Her grim discovery ensures Toya will meet the same fate, and in the last episode, as the murderer escapes through the window, Hole discovers the killer’s final victim in the bathroom, tied by her neck to the shower.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2026
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At the best Iceland Airbnbs, nature is the number one amenity, but city escapes offer plenty of perks too.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shuns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shuns. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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