## How to Remove an Element from a Python Dictionary: del vs. Creating a New Dictionary?

Removing an Element from a Python Dictionary

Python offers multiple methods to delete elements from a dictionary.

Modifying the Original Dictionary

To directly remove an element and modify the original dictionary, use the del statement:

<code class="python">del d[key]</code>

Creating a New Dictionary Without the Element

If you want to preserve the original dictionary, you can create a new one without the specified element:

<code class="python">def removekey(d, key):
    r = dict(d)
    del r[key]
    return r</code>

Performance Implications

Note that creating a copy for each dictionary modification takes constant time for small dictionaries. However, for larger dictionaries, this approach requires linear time and space. In such cases, consider alternative data structures like HAMTs, as suggested in the original answer.

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