eschew means to avoid; to shun, to shy away from. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
eschew is pronounced /ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/.
Why “eschew” is a great word
ESCHEW — [Verb] To deliberately avoid or abstain from something, typically on moral or practical grounds. From Middle English eschewen, from Anglo-Norman eschiver, from Frankish *skiuhijan ("to dread, shun, avoid"), making it a doublet of 'skew'. Unlike "avoid," a neutral act of evasion, or "shun," a public, social repudiation, to eschew is to enact a quiet, principled renunciation. It is the teetotaler's declined glass, the writer's spurned cliché, the hand that turns past salacious gossip—a self-imposed discipline that defines a life by its calm refusals, finding freedom in what it will not touch.
Etymology
From Middle English eschewen, from Anglo-Norman eschiver, (third-person present eschiu), from Frankish *skiuhijan (“to dread, shun, avoid”); thus a doublet of skew.
For the pronunciation with /ʃ/, compare the development of marshal from Middle English marschal (/marsˈt͡ʃaːl/) or Middle English myssheve, variant of myschef (“hardship”). Variants in /sk/ are either from unattested Middle English *eskewen (from Old Northern French eskiver; compare skew) or are spelling pronunciations.
See also French esquiver.
verb
- To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.“And peraduenture my lady the quene sente for hym to that entente that syr Launcelot shold come to her good grace pryuely and secretely wenynge to her that hit was best so to do in eschewyng & dredyng of sklaunder
"And peradventure my lady, the queen, sent for him to that intent that Sir Launcelot should come to her good grace privily and secretly, weening to her that it was best so to do, in esche”