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junk

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verb

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of junk are cast, discard, scrap, shed, and slough. While all these words mean "to get rid of," scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system

When is it sensible to use cast instead of junk?

The meanings of cast and junk largely overlap; however, cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

Where would discard be a reasonable alternative to junk?

Although the words discard and junk have much in common, discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of junk
Noun
When our castaways were cruising on the hotel junk rig in the season premiere, internecine feuding felt inevitable. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025 Other hot zones to hone in on: your junk drawer, your coffee-mug collection, and toy bins in your kid’s room. Petra Guglielmetti, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
This episode of What’s Ahead makes the case for junking the tax code and replacing it with a simple, single-rate system: the flat tax. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024 The ratings agency Fitch restored Delta’s investment-grade credit rating this July after cutting it to junk during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Melvin Backman, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for junk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for junk
Noun
  • Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and cook 5 minutes longer until cheese has melted and rice is tender.
    Elizabeth Nelson, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Come for breakfast or a light lunch and stay for their dazzling cheese selection—over 150 varieties served with the kind of attention to detail that makes even a simple sandwich feel sublime.
    Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Unlike a regular old garbage bag, these are leakproof and durable (and thus much harder for a squirrel to rip into, if given the chance).
    Sara Coughlin, SELF, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Four 20-pound bags of hamburger buns and sandwich breads got hit with Stop Sales, sending 80 pounds of bread into the garbage.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Bob Baffert had horse racing's problems dumped on his reputation.
    Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 2 May 2025
  • Chelsea’s players were understandably deflated after Sunday’s 8-2 aggregate hammering by Barcelona, which dumped them out of the Champions League semi-finals.
    Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • Among the debris were bricks, tins of paint, stones, and other assorted rubbish.
    Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
  • The effort has so far transformed more than 10 tons of flowers from would-be rubbish into fragrant souvenirs.
    Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 18 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • For those with patience to keep them free of debris and properly chlorinated (or, more realistically, the funds to hire someone), there’s probably just enough time to close on one of these homes before a mid-season heat wave.
    Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2025
  • The lot was activated because of the magnitude of storm debris that had to be removed from the basins.
    Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The life of a child in the mother's womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.
    NPR Staff, NPR, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Because of their risk of catching fire, lithium-ion batteries cannot be thrown out in the trash, curbside bins, or even battery recycling boxes.
    Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2025
  • On April 1, the Sanitation Department started to fine any building owners who flout the new rules, which took effect in October and require landlords to make sure food and other organic waste be separated from regular trash and placed in bins on the curb for pickup.
    Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The optional speakers can run on battery power for up to eight hours (recharged via USB-C port), and are rated to IP54 dust and water resistance.
    John Archer, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • By analyzing the colors and structures within the dust cocoons, scientists infer the composition, density and temperature of the gas and dust — crucial insights into the conditions necessary for stars to ignite. 5.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Junk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/junk. Accessed 4 May. 2025.

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