eschew
/ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/verb
eschew is spelled E-S-C-H-E-W: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, eschew means “To avoid; to shun, to shy away from” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in eschew?
| Letters | 6: E-S-C-H-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is eschew?
Eschew appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce eschew?
- UK /ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/
- UK /ɪsˈt͡ʃuː/
- UK /ɪʃˈt͡ʃuː/
Eschew has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-eschew.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with eschew?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as eschew from its last stressed vowel (/u/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of eschew
- eschews present, singular, he/she/it
- eschewing participle, present
- eschewed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eschew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eschew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense avoid, shun:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éviter, esquiver |
| German | meiden, scheuen |
| Portuguese | evitar, esquivar, renegar |
| Spanish | evitar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does eschew come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).