ESCHEW means to avoid or refrain from doing something. It has become a ubiquitous presence on recent SAT vocabulary in context questions and even in a critical reading passage.
During the 19th century, Realist artists ESCHEWED the prevailing Romantic style of portraying idealized images of gods and goddesses. Instead, they lived up to their name by focusing on the harsh realities of peasants and manual laborers.
Moving to the present, professional editors recommend that aspiring writers use strong action voice verbs and ESCHEW ly adverbs such as quickly and happily.
And finally, economies based upon barter ESCHEW the use of currency as a medium of exchange. Given these examples – and there may be more – ESCHEW has emerged as one of the hottest SAT words.
ESCHEW – to avoid or refrain from doing something