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“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.
Examples of vapid in a Sentence
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
Armond White, National Review, 30 Apr. 2025
Thankfully, Cronenberg is less interested in taking potshots at his vapid characters (played by the game likes of Julianne Moore, John Cusack, and Evan Bird channeling Shia LaBeouf) than in unearthing the sadness and madness that gnaws at their superficial dreams.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
The notion that morning TV talk-show hosts are a vapid lot is, well, not exactly a damning critique, but like so much of Don’t Look Up, it’s held up as a scathing, startling takedown, and Blanchett plays it with the same level of obviousness.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Mar. 2025
At a time when electronic music is wracked by nostalgia and vapid genre collisions, the most addictive 2020s phonk offers the thrilling promise of a wild new style.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vapid
Cite this Entry
“Vapid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vapid. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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