shun

See also: Shun, shùn, shǔn, sħun, and shǔŋ

English

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 [Term?]; see that entry for more discussion.

Compare hide, shy, and Sanskrit स्कुनाति (skunāti, “to cover”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃʌn/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ʃʊn/
• Rhymes: -ʌn

Verb

shun (third-person singular simple present shuns, present participle shunning, simple past and past participle shunned)

2. (transitive) To avoid, especially persistently; ostracize.

   Acrophobes shun mountaineering.

   • 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     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.

4. (transitive) To escape (a threatening evil, an unwelcome task etc).

   I'll shun meeting them for as long as possible.

6. (transitive) To screen, hide.
8. (transitive) To shove, push.

Derived terms

• scunner
• shunless
• shunnable
• shunner
• shunpike
• shunpiker
• shunworthy
• unshunned

Translations

to avoid, ostracize

• Bulgarian: отбягвам (bg) (otbjagvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 畏避 (zh) (wèibì) (out of fear)

• Czech: vyhnout se (cs) pf, vyhýbat se (cs) impf
• Danish: sky (da)
• Dutch: ontwijken (nl), vermijden (nl)
• Esperanto: eviti (eo)
• Finnish: karttaa (fi)
• French: éviter (fr), rejeter (fr)
• Galician: evitar (gl)
• German: aus dem Weg gehen, ausweichen (de), meiden (de), scheuen (de), vermeiden (de), ausstoßen (de), ausschließen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (biwandjan)
• Greek: αποφεύγω (el) (apofévgo)
• Hungarian: kerül (hu), elkerül (hu), visszariad (hu)
• Italian: evitare (it), detestare (it)
• Japanese: 忌む (ja) (imu), 忌避する (ja) (kihi suru)
• Latin: ēvītō
• Norwegian: unngå (no), sky (no)
• Polish: unikać (pl), stronić (pl)
• Portuguese: evitar (pt)
• Romanian: evita (ro)
• Russian: избега́ть (ru) impf (izbegátʹ), избежа́ть (ru) pf (izbežátʹ); сторони́ться (ru) impf (storonítʹsja); остерега́ться (ru) impf (osteregátʹsja); бере́чься (ru) impf (beréčʹsja)
• Slovak: vyhýbať sa, strániť sa
• Spanish: evitar (es)
• Swedish: sky (sv), skygga (sv)
• Turkish: kaçınmak (tr), sakınmak (tr), uzak durmak (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: قاچمق (kaçmak)

• Ukrainian: цура́тися (uk) impf (curátysja), остеріга́тися impf (osterihátysja), уника́ти impf (unykáty)

to escape

• Bulgarian: Избягвам (Izbjagvam)
• Czech: uniknout (cs) pf, unikat (cs) impf
• French: fuir (fr), esquiver (fr)
• Galician: escapar
• German: flüchten (de), ausweichen (de), umgehen (de), aus dem Weg gehen, entkommen (de)
• Greek: αποφεύγω (el) (apofévgo)
• Italian: schivare (it), eludere (it)
• Middle English: schonen
• Romanian: evada (ro)
• Russian: избега́ть (ru) impf (izbegátʹ), избежа́ть (ru) pf (izbežátʹ)
• Slovak: utekať
• Turkish: kaçmak (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: قاچمق (kaçmak)

to screen, hide

• Czech: zakrýt (cs) pf, zakrývat (cs) impf, ukrýt (cs) pf, ukrývat impf, schovat (cs) pf
• German: abschirmen (de), verstecken (de), unsichtbar machen
• Italian: stigmatizzare (it)
• Romanian: ascunde (ro)

to shove, push

• German: stoßen (de), schieben (de)
• Romanian: împinge (ro)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} mijden (nl), ^{(please verify)} schuwen (nl)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} forðast

References

• “shun”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “shun”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Shun”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Huns, USNH, huns

Japanese

Romanization

shun

1. Rōmaji transcription of しゅん

Mandarin

Romanization

shun

1. nonstandard spelling of shǔn
2. nonstandard spelling of shùn

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.