empty

Examples

• All

• My brain seems so empty without them.

• I was so lonely, empty.

  Of Things Past (2023)

• And I remember just feeling empty, cold.

• You can have an empty home and an empty soul.

  The Minimalists

• I find life now empty.

  Francis of Assisi (1961)

• But those celebrations pass quickly, and then there are empty, lonely weeks again.

  Fiction book (1990)

• You just, you're empty beyond anything, just empty.

• Moonlight is now sitting in an empty room and feeling empty.

  The Minimalists

• It's not fun, it's boring, it's empty, there's nothing to do.

• We had whittled our lives down to nothing, just empty space and swatches of dust in the corners.

  Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

M

meaningless

vsempty

226 5.1

Having no meaning, value, or purpose

adds an emotional numb or insincere quality beyond mere lack of meaning

B

blank

vsempty

89 4.2

A look that shows no expression or understanding

adds a sense of lacking sincere feeling or meaningful content

H

hollow

vsempty

64 5.5

Empty inside and not sincere or meaningful

is more about emotional numbness combined with lack of meaning

I

idle

vsempty

34 5.2

Unimportant talk with no real reason

focuses on emotional numbness and lack of sincere meaning rather than triviality

A

apathetic

vsempty

24 6.8

Not showing much interest or energy

is more about inner numbness and insincere or meaningless feeling

V

vacant

vsempty

• Offensive

18 4.1

Having a blank look that shows no thought or interest

is about feeling emotionally numb and lacking sincere content

E

expressionless

vsempty

11 4.4

Having a face or way of acting that shows no feeling

includes lack of meaning or sincerity as well as emotional blankness

I

impassive

vsempty

11 7.1

Not showing any feeling on the face or in the voice

also implies emotional numbness combined with insincerity or meaninglessness

V

vacuous

vsempty

• Formal

5 8.1

Having no real meaning or importance

focuses more on emotional numbness rather than only lacking substance

I

inexpressive

vsempty

1 5.5

Having little feeling in the face or voice

is similar but also includes lacking meaning or sincere feeling

A

affectless

vsempty

1 9.3

A person who shows no emotion in the face or voice

adds lack of meaning or sincerity as well as emotional absence

Antonyms

E

emotional

535 2.1

Showing strong feelings that are easy to see

Idioms

R

running on empty

• Informal

3 7.0

Very tired and having no energy or fuel left

G

glass half-empty

• Informal

2 6.5

A person who often sees the negative side of things

Compounds

E

empty promise

10 3.8

A promise someone makes without any plan to keep it

E

empty suit

• Offensive

7 8.1

A person in a position of power who has no real skills

E

empty nester

4 6.6

A parent whose children have grown up and left home

E

empty words

3 5.1

Talk that has no real meaning and is not useful

E

empty talk

1 4.3

Words that sound important but have no real meaning or action

E

empty-bellied

4.1

Feeling hungry and weak

E

empty quiver

• Literature

9.9

Having nothing needed to deal with a problem

E

Empty Quiver approach

• Jargon

9.9

To use all available resources and keep nothing in reserve

E

empty tomb

7.7

A monument honoring a person whose body is elsewhere or cannot be found

How Sincere

genuine

156 3.2

sincere

239 2.5

empty

351 3.7

hollow

64 5.5

deceptive

62 5.3

Surface Forms

Etymology