vapid

adjective

va·​pid ˈva-pəd  ˈvā- 

: lacking flavor, zest, interest, animation, or spirit : flat, dull

a gossipy, vapid woman, obsessed by her own elegance

—R. F. Delderfield

London was not all vapid dissipation

—V. S. Pritchett

vapidly adverb

vapidness noun

Did you know?

“Then away goes the brisk and pleasant Spirits and leave a vapid or sour Drink.” So wrote John Mortimer—an early 18th-century expert on agriculture, orchards, and cider-making—in his book on husbandry. His use was typical for his day, when vapid was often used specifically in reference to liquor. The term comes from Latin vapidus, meaning “flat-tasting,” a possible relative of vapor. That use still occurs today; you might, for example, hear an uninspiring wine described as vapid. More likely, however, you’ll hear vapid, along with the synonyms insipid, flat, and inane, describe people and things that are dull and boring, empty and insubstantial, or lacking spirit and character.

Choose the Right Synonym for vapid

insipid, vapid, flat, jejune, banal, inane mean devoid of qualities that make for spirit and character.

insipid implies a lack of sufficient taste or savor to please or interest.

an insipid romance with platitudes on every page

vapid suggests a lack of liveliness, force, or spirit.

an exciting story given a vapid treatment

flat applies to things that have lost their sparkle or zest.

although well-regarded in its day, the novel now seems flat

jejune suggests a lack of rewarding or satisfying substance.

a jejune and gassy speech

banal stresses the complete absence of freshness, novelty, or immediacy.

a banal tale of unrequited love

inane implies a lack of any significant or convincing quality.

an inane interpretation of the play

Examples of vapid in a Sentence

Waiting rooms, as I'm sure you know, are small rooms with plenty of chairs for waiting, as well as piles of old, dull magazines to read and some vapid paintings … while you endure the boredom that doctors and dentists inflict on their patients before bringing them in to poke them and prod them and do all the miserable things that such people are paid to do. —Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator, 2001

In a secular age, symbolic rituals such as lighting the Olympic torch inevitably risk seeming a little vapid. —Tony Perrottet, Civilization, June/July 2000

… the incompetent servant, by whomsoever employed, is always against his employer. Even those born governors, noble and right honourable creatures, who have been the most imbecile in high places, have uniformly shown themselves the most opposed (sometimes in belying distrust, sometimes in vapid insolence) to THEIR employer. What is in such wise true of the public master and servant, is equally true of the private master and servant all the world over. —Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, 1865

a song with vapid lyrics

Recent Examples on the Web

What is remarkable about these conversations isn’t the subject matter itself, but how vapid, predictable, and sycophantic the back-and-forth becomes. —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2024

Latinos in the New Millennium represents a potential antidote to this vapid discourse and a data-rich corrective to the stereotypes that too often define Hispanics in the United States. —Ray Suarez, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012

The modeling industry can seem vapid and filled with more cons than pros, but these models have been determined to change that with their entrepreneurial aspirations. —Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 12 June 2024

Those are the kind of sentences that people will remember, unlike the vapid rhetoric of Joe Biden. —Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin vapidus "(of wine) having lost freshness, flat"; akin to Latin vappa "wine that has gone flat" and perhaps to vapor "exhalation, steam" — more at vapor entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

vapid

adjective

vap·​id

ˈvap-əd

: being dull or uninteresting

vapidly adverb