discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.
discard old clothes
cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.
cast off her friends
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
scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.
scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system
Examples of junk in a Sentence
Noun (1)
couldn't believe that such junk was chosen to be read for the book club
my car is junk—it spends more time in the shop than on the road junk on the side of the road waiting for the trash collectionVerb
We decided to junk our old computer and buy a new one.
we'll have to junk this old car
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Noun
While many strategies are currently under development for removing or eliminating space junk, these address the symptoms, not the root cause.—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025 This handsome design can work in just about any room in your home and comes equipped with a little bit of drawer storage to discreetly hide any junk.—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
Equity grading, which curtails teacher discretion, should be junked.—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 His command has improved, and he’s gone from getting lit up against lefties to passable by junking his split-change, using a different grip for a true changeup to give him a viable option against left-handed hitters.—Keith Law, New York Times, 31 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for junk
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