eschew

/ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/

//ɛsˈt͡ʃuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"eschew" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“eschew” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,730. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,730
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eschew · eschew · English

eschew · rank #48,730 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,730
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Esau

Nearest frequency peer: Esau (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “eschew”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “eschew” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

eschew vs Esther
50% similar
eschew vs etched
67% similar
eschew vs escrow
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for eschew
PropertyValue
Headwordeschew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#48,730
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “eschew”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).eschewlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Esau” (#48,729), “etude” (#48,731), “equalize” (#48,728). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “eschew” is #48,730. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around eschew (IPA /ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #48,730 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for eschew, with forms such as "ecshew", "escchew", and "escehw". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Esther", "etched", "escrow", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 marsc… The correct English form is eschew, spelled E-S-C-H-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how eschew appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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…
  2. What cannot be eschew'd must be embrac'd.

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.

This word in other languages

evitar(Español)éviter(Français)meiden(Deutsch)evitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ecshew
  • escchew
  • escehw
  • escheww
  • eschhew
  • eschwe
  • eshcew
  • esschew
  • sechew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of eschew - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ecshew2escchew1escehw2escheww1eschhew1eschwe2eshcew2esschew1
Edit distance from "eschew"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "eschew"?
"eschew" is spelled E-S-C-H-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/.
What does "eschew" mean?
As a verb, "eschew" means: To avoid; to shun, to shy away from.
What words are commonly confused with "eschew"?
"eschew" is commonly confused with "Esther", "etched", "escrow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "eschew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eschew" is /ɛsˈt͡ʃuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "eschew"?
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 Eng... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "eschew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fabius#48,739Feeney#48,742Dvorak#48,716Dottie#48,709

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

dropper9 variantsGauguin9 variantsDebussy9 variantsgiveth9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list