Emptiness — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Empty (adjective)

Empty is a different word from Emptiness. The synonyms below are for empty, not for emptiness.

1. lacking contents that could or should be present

   "the refrigerator is empty, so we'll have to eat out"

   similar: bare, blank, clean, devoid, stark, toom (chiefly Scottish), vacant, vacuous, void
   related: barren, hollow, available, clear, free, open, unfilled, unfurnished, unattended, uninhabited, unoccupied, abandoned, deserted, emptied, forsaken, vacated, depleted, drained, dry, exhausted
   opposite: full
   near: complete, replete, furnished, provided, supplied, filled, occupied, flush, overflowing, packed, teeming

2. feeling a desire or need for food

   "as the long car trip wore on, we all started to feel a little empty"

   similar: famished, hungry, peckish (chiefly British), starved, starving
   related: rapacious, ravenous, voracious, wolfish, malnourished, underfed, undernourished, gluttonous, gormandizing, greedy, hoggish, insatiable, piggish, piggy
   opposite: full, sated, satiate, satiated, satisfied
   near: engorged, glutted, gorged, overfed, overfull, overstuffed, replete, stuffed, surfeited

3. having no meaning

   "spare me your empty apologies because if you were truly sorry, you'd change"

   similar: inane, meaningless, pointless, senseless
   related: frivolous, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant, absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dotty, empty-headed, fatuous, foolish, half-witted, harebrained, insane, jerky, kooky, loony, mad, mindless, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unintelligent, unwise, wacky, weak-minded, witless, zany, irrational, unreasonable, aimless, haphazard, purposeless
   opposite: meaningful, significant
   near: eloquent, expressive, pregnant, revealing, suggestive, telling, logical, rational, reasonable, valid, consequential, eventful, important, key, major, momentous, substantial, weighty

4. having no usefulness

   "an empty task that was assigned just to keep us busy"

   similar: chaffy, junky, no-good, null, vain, valueless, worthless
   related: base, cheap, cheapjack, duff (British), inferior, lousy, low-grade, second-rate, bad, defective, dud, flawed, imperfect, substandard, unsatisfactory, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, unacceptable
   opposite: useful, valuable, worthy
   near: invaluable, precious, priceless, cherished, esteemed, prized, treasured, choice, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special

5. producing no results

   "all of the leads in the missing-person case were turning up empty"

   similar: abortive, barren, bootless, fruitless, futile, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, otiose, profitless, unavailing, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless, vain, in vain, no dice, not worth the candle, of no avail
   related: hollow, idle, meaningless, pointless, valueless, worthless, hopeless, impossible, lost, no-win, unattainable, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting, counterproductive
   opposite: deadly, effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient, fruitful, potent, productive, profitable, successful, virtuous
   near: meaningful, worthwhile, adequate, sufficient, applicable, feasible, functional, practicable, practical, realizable, usable, workable

6. not expressing any emotion

   "the speaker looked out at a crowd of empty faces"

   similar: blank, catatonic, deadpan, expressionless, impassive, inexpressive, numb, stolid, vacant
   related: dull, vacuous, vague, vapid, enigmatic, impenetrable, inscrutable, mysterious, motionless, static, still, wooden, reserved, restrained, reticent, taciturn, aloof, apathetic, cold, cool, detached, indifferent, phlegmatic, unresponsive
   opposite: demonstrative, expressive
   near: engaged, interested, responsive, active, alive, animated, bright, busy, dynamic, effervescent, energetic, expansive, exuberant, lively, vivacious, eloquent, revealing, revelatory, gestic, gesticulant, gesticulative, gesticulatory, gestural, emotional, melodramatic, theatrical, unreserved, unrestrained