use v5.14; my $string = 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit.'; my @skips = ( 'ipsum', 'sit amet', 'elit' ); my $re = do { local $" = '|'; qr/@skips/; }; say for $string =~ s/$re//gr =~ m/\b(\w+)\b/g; #### Lorem dolor consectetur adipisicing #### my @keeps = $string =~ s/$re//gr =~ m/\b(\w+)\b/g; #### my $VAR = [ $string =~ s/$re//gr =~ m/\b(\w+)\b/g ];