Synonyms of cull

cull 1 of 2

noun

as in discard

something separated from a group or lot for not being as good as the others

the unbruised apples will be packed in bags, and the culls will be used for cider

Synonyms & Similar Words

• discard
• second
• reject
• rejection
• rubbish
• trash
• waste
• scrap
• castaway
• throwaway
• white elephant
• hand-me-down

cull

2 of 2

verb

ˈkəl 

as in to select

to decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities

culled the best short stories from the author's body of writings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• select
• choose
• pick
• take
• elect
• prefer
• name
• tag
• designate
• handpick
• cherry-pick
• single (out)
• opt (for)
• nominate
• adopt
• appoint
• accept
• tap
• set
• preselect
• mark
• embrace
• tab
• espouse
• settle (on or upon)
• fix

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• refuse
• reject
• decline
• turn down
• negative
• disapprove
• discard
• repudiate
• throw away
• spurn
• throw out
• jettison

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cull

Noun

Some of California’s most popular campuses, including the UCs and USC, do not use AI to cull applicants, and use only human readers and admissions staff. —Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026

Adhami suggests doing a big cull rather than zoning in on organization. —Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 1 Jan. 2026

Verb

There was a strong suspicion that the deployment of Meredith and his two valiant soldiers was more of a low-cost publicity stunt than a serious attempt to cull the emu population. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 2026

And it‘s now time to cull some Democrats from the dense field of candidates for governor. —George Skelton, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026