sifted out
Removed by screening
To sift out is to separate and remove something from a larger group, as flour is sifted to remove lumps.
The phrase usually implies careful examination: We sifted out the unqualified applicants.
What gets sifted out is typically unwanted or doesn't belong: The editor sifted out the errors before publication.
- eliminatingRemoving from consideration
- winnowingSeparating grain from chaff
- cullingSelective population reduction
- filteringSelective passage of elements
- sievingFiltering through mesh
distilling · boiled down · straining · extracting · selecting · discerning · purifying · isolating · screening · categorizing · excluding · parsing · clarifying · sorting · grading · analyzing · evaluating · refining
sifted outthrown together
Assembled hastily, without care
combined · blended in · merged · amalgamated · intermixed
sifted outkept in
Held and not released
included · retained · let in · incorporated · admitted
sifted outcontaminated
Made impure by contact
adulterated · muddied · polluted · diluted