/eschew/

 

/eschew/

Verb.

-) Pronunciation and accent: ɛstʃuː

-) Etymology: derived from Old French eschiver, eschever (= to shun). It is etymologically identical with Spanish esquivar, French esquiver and Italian schivare.

-) Preterite tense, preterite participle: eschewed.

-) Present participle: eschewing.

-) It is dated from the beginning of 1300.

Transitively: 1. Archaic acceptations: a. To keep prudentially away from (a place, a person, etc.); to caution oneself from touching. b. To avoid; caution oneself or prevent oneself from being affected by (a danger).

[…] she beheld, in the gloom, a sullen and terrible form walking alone, as if eschewed by all, and his arms were bare to the shoulder.

John Galt… The spaewife 1824

Everything reminded me of him; the books on the table, that we had read together, with his pencil marks straying down the margin; the rocking-chair in the corner; this was the place where he sang, and there he told that comical story […] As for the garden, I eschewed this entirely, for every tree, and flower, and walk, had its story of the past.

Virginia Twonsend… While it was Morning 1858

2. To abstain from: a. To caution oneself from using (something undesired, or unsuitable); not to use it after deliberation upon its convenience, suitability, etc.

-) Synonyms for eschew: to avoid, shun.

-) Antonyms of eschew: desire, use, employ.

-) Translation: evitar, in Spanish; éviter, in French; evitare, in Italian.

One suggestion, though it be a late one. Do have upon the table, in the opening scene of the second act, something in a velvet case, or frame, that may look like a large miniature of Mabel, such as one of Ross's, and eschew that picture.

Charles Dickens… The Letters… 1833

Verbosity and diffuseness should be carefully eschewed by the writers of the present day.

The Knickerbocker, vol. 2 1833

Whist has long been noted for its influence upon what is termed the calculating power; and men of the highest order of intellect have been known to take an apparently unaccountable delight in it, while eschewing chess as frivolous.

Edgar Poe… The Rue Morgue 1841

Eschew […] big words; get them as small as possible, and write them upside down.

Edgar Poe

These [themes] the mere romanticist must eschew, if he does not wish to offend.

Edgar Poe 1844

'Pray, Mr Brick,' said Martin, turning to him, and asking a question more for conversation's sake than from any feeling of interest in its subject, 'who is that;' he was going to say 'young' but thought it prudent to eschew the word—'that very short gentleman yonder, with the red nose?'

Charles Dickens… Martin Chuzzlewit 1844

[Jim] has already eschewed green coats, red neckcloths, and other worldly ornaments, and is preparing himself for a change in his condition.

William Thackeray… Vanity Fair 1847

Many of the first painters of the present day seem to eschew the use of monograms.

Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 434 1852

[…] the system of cramming is to be eschewed, whilst the formation of habits of comparing, reasoning […] is to be encouraged.

The Chemical News 1866

b. To caution oneself from undergoing (an emotion).

-) Antonym: to undergo.

Eschew all envy, and petty jealousies, and rivalries.

Susan Cooper… Elinor Wyllys 1845

c. To caution oneself from being in (an undesired situation).

-) Antonyms: to pursue, seek, try to obtain, desire, undergo.

-) Synonyms: to avoid, shun.

Cartouche, after this, did not care to meet his brother-in-law, but eschewed all those occasions on which the latter was to be present at his father's house.

William Thackeray… The Paris Sketch Book… 1840

The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes.

Charles Dickens… Dombey And Son 1848

Next day, Croquet eschewed my company.

Chamber’s Edinburgh journal 1859

d. To caution oneself from doing (an act, which may be signified with a gerund).

-) Antonyms: to desire, purpose, be willing, try.

-) Synonyms: to avoid, shun, be unwilling, forgo.

We all now began to settle ourselves in our respective places. Those who had bundles, if they could not get them beneath the seats, managed to place them at their feet; but all in my neighbourhood, I observed, carefully eschewed coming in contact with Miss Strang.

Sarah Whitehead… Rose Douglas 1851

-) English words derived from Eschew: eschewal, eschewance, eschewer, eschewing, eschewment.