shun
verb/ʃʌn/ · IE /ʃʊn/
Etymology From Middle English schonen (“to decline to do, avoid, fear”), from Old English sċunian (“to shun, fear, avoid”), of uncertain origin, though probably ultimately connected to the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”) via Proto-Germanic *skunōną; see that entry for more discussion. Compare hide, shy, and Sanskrit स्कुनाति (skunāti, “to cover”).
1
To avoid, especially persistently; ostracize.
- Acrophobes shun mountaineering.
- British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
2
To escape (a threatening evil, an unwelcome task etc).
- I'll shun meeting them for as long as possible.
3
To screen, hide.
4
To shove, push.