Synonyms of discard

discard 1 of 2

noun

ˈdis-ˌkärd 

as in reject

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

toss all of your discards in the garbage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

discard

2 of 2

verb

dis-ˈkärd 

as in to dump

to get rid of as useless or unwanted

discard an old, torn sweater

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dump
• ditch
• unload
• lose
• reject
• abandon
• scrap
• jettison
• remove
• toss
• eliminate
• shed
• chuck
• exorcise
• junk
• cast (off)
• throw away
• set aside
• slough (off)
• dismiss
• shuck (off)
• fling (off or away)
• deep-six
• lay by
• dispose of
• sluff (off)
• throw out
• forsake
• eradicate
• abolish
• abdicate
• eighty-six
• pitch
• cashier
• expunge
• kick out
• desert
• extirpate
• exterminate
• liquidate
• extinguish
• wipe out
• annihilate
• stamp (out)
• root (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adopt
• use
• embrace
• utilize
• employ
• take on
• retain
• keep
• hold
• hold back

Synonym Chooser

How is the word discard different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of discard are cast, junk, scrap, shed, and slough. While all these words mean "to get rid of," discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

Where would cast be a reasonable alternative to discard?

The words cast and discard can be used in similar contexts, but cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

How are the words scrap and junk related as synonyms of discard?

Both scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways

would junk our educational system

How do shed and slough relate to one another, in the sense of discard?

Shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

shed a bad habit

finally sloughed off the depression

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of discard

Noun

Insights from the Illinois cornfields In the field across from Rowe’s barn, the discards from last year’s corn crop lie scattered on top of the soil between this year’s rows of soybeans. —Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 25 July 2025

While scouting for bricks at New Jersey’s Perth Amboy Terracotta Company, Stan passed a stable constructed from oddly hued discards, failed experiments in mixing colors. —Henry Wiencek july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025

Verb

By 1974, though, many women had already discarded those notions as instruments of domination, psychic equivalents of the whalebone corset. —James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

After the executions, the bodies were discarded without ceremony. —James Frater, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025