lacuna

noun

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la·cu·na | \ lə-ˈkü-nə

, -ˈkyü- \

plural lacunae\ lə-ˈkyü-(ˌ)nē

, -ˈkü-ˌnī \ also lacunas\ lə-ˈkü-nəz

, -ˈkyü- \

Definition of lacuna

1 : a blank space or a missing part : gap the evident lacunae in his story— Shirley Hazzard also : deficiency sense 1 despite all these lacunae, those reforms were a vast improvement — New Republic

2 : a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure

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Examples of lacuna in a Sentence

She found a lacuna in the historical record. attributes many of the nation's problems to a lacuna of leadership at the top

Recent Examples on the Web With a lacuna of primary evidence, Chinese historians have turned to alternate sources including fascinating insights drawn from song lyrics and poetry. — Beth Py-lieberman, Smithsonian, "Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2019," 28 Nov. 2019 There has always been a lacuna among the books, maps and newspaper clippings that comprise the neighborhood history collection and that’s a piece of one of Georgetown’s most famous houses: the Key Mansion. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "This McLean used book sale turns 50 this year. It features very D.C. titles.," 11 Sep. 2019 In a wide-ranging and learned reflection, drawing on great Russian and early Christian thinkers, there is one huge lacuna: any negative reference to the communist regime which in 1923 closed Sarov’s once-magnificent monastery and its nine churches. — The Economist, "Church leaders in central and eastern Europe remain surprisingly loth to condemn their old adversary," 11 Aug. 2019 Perhaps these lacunae are meant to unsettle plaintiffs in Sierra Club and the half-dozen other lawsuits challenging Mr Trump’s emergency cash transfer by executive fiat. — S.m. | New York, The Economist, "The Supreme Court’s ruling on the border wall leaves unanswered questions," 29 July 2019 The constitutional prohibition on people under the age of 35 serving as president is just one of these weird lacuna that was handed down to us from the 18th century but that nobody would seriously propose creating today if not for status quo bias. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "It’s ridiculous that it’s unconstitutional for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president," 12 Dec. 2018 The hollow is rich and generative, a lacuna of a kind Ball has mastered. — Ellie Robins, latimes.com, "Jesse Ball's 'Census' is an understated tale of a father and son taking stock of America," 9 Mar. 2018 But at least part of this outrage lacuna must be attributable to the distorting effects of partisanship. — Jonah Goldberg, National Review, "American Nationalists Are Awfully Quiet about Russia," 16 Feb. 2018 Obviously the giant lacuna in that sort of analysis is that there was segregation in the country, the status of women, status of gay people, etc. — Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, "Why corporate America is so much more awful than it used to be.," 29 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lacuna.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.