Removing or Separating: English Vocabulary List

to intentionally remove something unpleasant from one's mind

"He tried to blot out memories."

"She desperately tried to blot out the traumatic experience from her conscious thoughts."

to make something ineffective

"The two effects cancel out each other."

"The positive effects of the new drug may cancel out the negative side effects of the other medication the patient is taking."

to make someone leave a place against their will

"They will chuck him out."

"The landlord had to chuck out the tenants who consistently failed to pay their rent."

to deliberately not include someone in a particular activity or event

"They count out the weak."

"The coach decided to count out the less experienced players for the championship game."

to exclude or remove a part of an image or content, typically for a specific purpose or to enhance the visual composition

"Crop out the unwanted background areas."

"The photographer used editing software to crop out the distracting background elements from the final image."

to draw a line through a word or words to show that they should be removed or ignored

"Cross out the wrong answer."

"The teacher crossed out the wrong answers with a red pen and wrote the correct ones next to them."

to use a sharp object like scissors or a knife on something to remove a section from it

"Cut out the unhealthy snacks."

"You should cut out sugary drinks from your diet if you want to lose weight."

to take a thing or person out of a place, particularly after searching for them

"Fish out the keys from pocket."

"He reached into his pocket and fished out a crumpled twenty dollar bill to pay for the pizza."

to force something or someone out of a hidden or confined space

"Flush out the pests now."

"The police used tear gas to flush out the suspects hiding in the building."

to push or expel something or someone from a particular location

"They force out the corrupt official."

"The shareholders forced out the incompetent CEO after the company lost millions of dollars under his leadership."

to extract or remove a substance through pressure

"Press out the juice."

"You need to press out the remaining water from the washed clothes before drying them."

to remove something by using friction or a rubbing motion, often referring to pencil marks, ink, or other marks on a surface

"Rub out the pencil marks gently."

"The child rubbed out the mistake with an eraser and carefully rewrote the correct answer in his notebook."

to remove someone or something from a larger group or collection

"Separate out the eggs carefully."

"The recycling facility uses machines to separate out the plastic bottles from the glass jars and metal cans."

to remove one's clothes quickly and easily

"She slips out of her coat."

"He managed to slip out of his tight shoes after a long day of walking."

to press something in order to remove the liquid

"Squeeze out the toothpaste from tube."

"She squeezed out the last bit of toothpaste from the tube because she did not want to go to the store to buy a new one."

to forcefully split or remove something from their place or position, often through pulling or ripping

"Tear out the page carefully."

"The frustrated student tore out the page from his notebook and crumpled it into a ball before throwing it away."

to get rid of something that is no longer needed

"People throw out the old trash."

"The health inspector ordered the restaurant to throw out all expired food products that were found in the old refrigerator."

to remove dirt or stains using water, soap, or a cleaning agent

"Wash out the dirty clothes."

"It's important to wash out the muddy footprints from the carpet before they set."

to clean or remove something by flushing it with water or another liquid

"Rinse out the soapy water thoroughly."

"You should rinse out the soapy water from the bucket before storing it away in the garage."

to completely empty or remove the contents of a space, container, or place, often thorough cleaning

"Clean out the old cupboard."

"We need to clean out the garage this weekend to finally get rid of all the accumulated clutter."

to make something indistinguishable due to a more dominant or overwhelming factor

"Noise drowns out their conversation."

"The loud music from the party next door drowned out the sound of the television so we could not hear anything."

to no longer be friends with someone as a result of an argument

"They often fall out over money."

"They used to be close friends but fell out over a minor financial disagreement."

to forcefully remove someone from an office or position

"They will kick him out."

"The corrupt official was eventually kicked out of office after the scandal broke."

to take and bring something out of a particular place or position

"Pull out the drawer carefully."

"The dentist had to pull out the patient's painful wisdom tooth because it was badly infected."

to remove something completely, as if pulling it up by the roots

"Root out the corruption completely."

"The new manager promised to root out corruption in the department and fire anyone who was taking bribes."

to force something or someone to leave a particular location by filling it with smoke

"Smoke out the rats."

"They had to smoke out the raccoons that had taken up residence in the attic."

to eliminate someone or something from a list

"Strike them out."

"We need to strike out all the outdated entries from the database immediately."

to remove a thing from somewhere or something

"Take out the trash please."

"Please take out the trash before you go to bed because the garbage truck comes early tomorrow morning."

to entirely remove something

"The disease wipes out entire populations."

"The bad investment nearly wiped out all of his life savings and left him with almost nothing."