How To Remove All Occurrences Of An Element From A List In Python

To remove all occurrences of an element from a List in Python, you can use the filter(), remove() functions or list comprehension. Let’s get started to learn more about them.

Remove All Occurrences Of An Element From A List In Python

Using the list comprehension

You can use the list comprehension to remove all occurrences of an element from a List in Python. Simply, you combine it with the if condition and choose the elements that are not the desired value.

Look at the example below.

def remove_occurrences(my_list=list(), element=0):
    # Remove all occurrences of an element from a List with the list comprehension.
    result = [item for item in my_list if item != element]
    return result

# Apply this function with this list.
my_list = [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
print('The initial list: {}'.format(my_list))

# Remove 0 to the list.
my_list = remove_occurrences(my_list, 0)
print('The new list: {}'.format(my_list))

Output

The initial list: [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
The new list: [1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 7, 5]

Using the filter() function

Besides the list comprehension, you can use the filter() function combined with the __ne__() method to remove all occurrences of an element from a List.

Look at the example below.

def remove_occurrences(my_list=list(), element=0):
    # Remove all occurrences of an element from a List with the filter() function.
    result = list(filter((element).__ne__, my_list))
    return result

# Apply this function with this list.
my_list = [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
print('The initial list: {}'.format(my_list))

# Remove 0 to the list.
my_list = remove_occurrences(my_list, 0)
print('The new list: {}'.format(my_list))

Output

The initial list: [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
The new list: [1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 7, 5]

Using the remove() function

Moreover, you can use the remove() function to remove all occurrences of an element from a List. Because the remove() function can remove only one value per statement so you can combine it with the try-except method to achieve your goal.

Look at the example below.

def remove_occurrences(my_list=list(), element=0):
    # Remove all occurrences of an element from a List with the remove() function.
    while True:
        try:
            my_list.remove(element)
        except ValueError:
            # Break the while loop if all desired values are removed.
            break
    return my_list

# Apply this function with this list.
my_list = [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
print('The initial list: {}'.format(my_list))

# Remove 0 to the list.
my_list = remove_occurrences(my_list, 0)
print('The new list: {}'.format(my_list))

Output

The initial list: [0, 0, 1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 0, 0, 7, 5]
The new list: [1, 3, 4, 4, 1, 5, 7, 5]

Summary

We have shown you how to remove all occurrences of an element from a List in Python in 4 ways. From our point of view, you should use the list comprehension because it is popular and easy to use. We hope this tutorial is helpful to you. Thanks!

Thomas Valen

My name is Thomas Valen. As a software developer, I am well-versed in programming languages. Don’t worry if you’re having trouble with the C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, or R programming languages. I’m here to assist you!

Name of the university: PTIT
Major: IT
Programming Languages: C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, R