1
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
a great vacuous space that should have been filled with an audience
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a movie that was enthusiastically derided for its vacuous dialogue
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Recent Examples of vacuous
Malvolio’s sneering high-handedness enrages the hedonistic members of Olivia’s household: her drunken cousin, Sir Toby Belch (John Ellison Conlee); his vacuous buddy Andrew Aguecheek (Jesse Tyler Ferguson); and her saucy maid, Maria (Daphne Rubin-Vega).
—
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Fallon, for his part, plays his usual role of affable if vacuous host.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
These are the hallmarks of the Alien franchise, which have remained mostly consistent across the seven movies (plus two vacuous Alien vs. Predator crossovers) that have kept those terrifying Xenomorphs coming back to our screens every decade since the original premiered in 1979.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Bateman's seething anger at having his card bested by that of his colleague Paul Allen (Jared Leto), despite the two cards looking almost identical, satirized the vacuous materialism of 1980s yuppie culture.
—New Atlas, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacuous
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Fallon, for his part, plays his usual role of affable if vacuous host.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
These are the hallmarks of the Alien franchise, which have remained mostly consistent across the seven movies (plus two vacuous Alien vs. Predator crossovers) that have kept those terrifying Xenomorphs coming back to our screens every decade since the original premiered in 1979.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Bateman's seething anger at having his card bested by that of his colleague Paul Allen (Jared Leto), despite the two cards looking almost identical, satirized the vacuous materialism of 1980s yuppie culture.
—New Atlas, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacuous
Adjective
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Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
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That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
Free speech covers the jokes, the satire, the parodies—even the dumb, crass, or offensive ones.—
Lizz Winstead,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
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On the flipside, Kimmel, like everyone else with a boss, is not protected against saying dumb stuff and getting fired.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Caleb, beside her, had an empty backpack from Skywalker Ranch slung over his shoulder.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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An empty lectern waited at its center.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The real star of this episode, however, was Gretchen Christine Beauté and her stupid Lara Croft outfit.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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Among the colorful cast of rogues, villains, queens and clergymen, Andre The Giant stands out as the young suitor’s kind-hearted but stupid brute.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Together with progress made in other areas, such as finding ways of making Mars warm enough to sustain liquid water, restoring barren environments on Earth could be a key to one day living on Mars.—
Chris Impey,
The Conversation,
23 Sep. 2025
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At the time, only a handful of the university’s buildings were completed and the barren campus lacked landscaping.—
Ron Hasse,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The slow start that Mayfield is alluding to has to do with the Buccaneers only scoring two field goals through the first half, and scoring their first touchdown well into the third quarter.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
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Construction in the section of Jackson Park, often described as Chicago’s equivalent of Central Park, has been slow.—
Christine Valora,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Don’t pull over in the roundabout Roundabouts with a single lane of traffic in each direction are fairly simple – yield to traffic in the roundabout, wait for a gap in traffic and go through, Bryson said.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
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This can be as simple as bodyweight movements, resistance bands or dumbbells, focusing on compound/functional movements like squats, pushes and pulls.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Grill, uncovered, until well-browned and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers at least 165°, 4 to 5 minutes per side, moving chicken to a cooler zone, as needed, if browning too fast.—
Sonal Dutt,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
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He's got a booming, soulful baritone — molasses-thick and syrupy sweet — that sounds studio-perfect on stage.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacuous. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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