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depthlessness

depthlessness

9.3
A quality of being shallow in a place or in meaning and feeling
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛpθləsnəs/
translation icon : superficialidad
  • His writing often suffers from a depthlessness that fails to engage the reader's emotions.

Examples

  • Here again we have the association of postmodernism with the dissolution of the humanistic subject, a signifier of the depthlessness that Jameson famously identified as the waning of affect in postmodern culture.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Recalling Barthes' reprehensible physiognomic diagnosis of the depthlessness of Japanese culture from the facial features of Japanese people, Sakabe's omote was a depthless surface behind which lies nothing.

    Academic text (2018)
  • A depthlessness of signs informs this cultural logic.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The depthlessness of the pool made it unsafe for diving.

  • The depthlessness of their conversation left me feeling unfulfilled and bored.

Synonyms

void
vsdepthlessness
182 6.5

A very empty space or feeling that is hard to fill

is the general quality of lacking physical, emotional, or semantic fullness
emptiness
vsdepthlessness
58 5.3

A feeling that life has no meaning

adds the physical and emotional absence sense to that lack
blankness
vsdepthlessness
4 4.3

A feeling of emptiness with no thoughts or emotion

is broader, implying missing depth in meaning, feeling, or form
senselessness
vsdepthlessness
2 7.0

A state of having no meaning or purpose

is less limited, also including physical or emotional absence
soullessness
vsdepthlessness
1 7.7

A feeling of cold emptiness and lack of human warmth

is more general, covering physical emptiness and lack of meaning too
hollowness
vsdepthlessness
1 5.3

An empty space inside a thing, like a tree trunk or cheek

focuses more broadly on absence in feeling or meaning too
shallowness
vsdepthlessness
1 4.6

Little depth in a place, for example water that is not deep

also covers missing meaning or feeling, not only physical measurement
vacuousness
vsdepthlessness
  • Formal
1 9.2

A state of being empty of meaning and thought

is wider, including physical empty quality and lack of feeling
lacking in depth
vsdepthlessness
6.0

Not giving much detail or careful thought

is broader, covering physical, emotional, and meaning-related lack
voidness
vsdepthlessness
8.1

A feeling of emptiness after something important ends

includes that emptiness but also missing feeling or meaning

Antonyms

117 3.6

A strong, intense quality in sound, color or feeling

How Deep

profundity
  • Formal
3 8.4
depth
318 1.0
depthlessness
9.3

Surface Forms

depthlessness singular

Morphology

depthlessness = depthless (transparent) = depth + less + ness

The suffix '-ness' is transparently used to form a noun indicating a state or quality from the adjective 'depthless'.

Etymology

Depthlessness is made from depth, which comes from deep meaning 'far down' or 'serious', plus -less meaning 'without' and -ness to make a thing. So, depthlessness means 'without depth', whether a place is physically shallow or a idea or feeling is not deep or serious.