EMPTINESS Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

emptiness

noun

Definition of emptiness

as in hunger

a need or desire for food the emptiness that usually sets in about three o'clock in the afternoon

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in void

empty space there in the vast emptiness of the desert was a long-abandoned jeep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in vacancy

the quality or state of being empty the emptiness of the interior of the isolated house just made it seem all the more eerie

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of emptiness There is an emptiness left behind that cannot be filled, and there are so many of us who will never be quite the same without you. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026 Occasional moments of real, spontaneous joy emerge, and others reveal the crushing emptiness of lives going nowhere, but the script doesn’t lean too hard in either direction. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026 In all of the sketchbook entries reproduced here, Ross seems to offer a bridge between the representation of emptiness and the lived sensation of it. — Ryan Sullivan, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026 The suburbs promise space yet deliver emptiness, critics charge. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 Treating emptiness as sophistication becomes incapable of distinguishing moral from aesthetic judgment. — Frank Porcu, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026 Markets have seen through the emptiness of Bessent’s remedy, as ‘bond vigilantes’ have driven bond yields even higher despite Bessent’s band-aids. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026 What makes this emptiness more bothersome is the cavalier way Wingard wields the imagery of rogue, militarized killers wreaking havoc on the American landscape. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Bring In Texture Layering décor is a sure way to absorb a room’s visual emptiness. — Shagun Khare, Martha Stewart, 29 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for emptiness

Noun

Hardware demand Despite these concerns, the sector's hunger for chips doesn't seem to be letting up, as seen in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's record quarter.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Jasper, in Chicago, understands the risk of silencing those hunger cues.

— Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of hunger

Noun

With air rushing back in to fill the region as the trough of lower pressure disappears, wind will gust 15-20 mph across the Central Valley and foothills later Tuesday afternoon and evening to fill the void.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Still grieving, Viard struggled to occupy the void left by Lagerfeld, whose larger-than-life personality loomed over the Paris fashion landscape and whose workload at Chanel spanned no fewer than 10 collections a year.

— Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of void

Noun

The change would allow commissioners to fill those commission vacancies by scheduling a special election to sync up with an existing local election.

— Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Front Street said last month that pending requests had fallen by more than 90% after vacancies were filled and processes were streamlined.

— Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of vacancy

Noun

Meanwhile, the way Artificial played like a horror movie felt incredibly true to this moment, where so many of us are just starting to feel sick to our stomach about it.

— Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
There is no vaccine for the illness, which can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea.

— Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of stomach

Noun

Elsewhere, Huston exudes a terrifying blankness while writing his Spinoza magnum opus paper dressed literally in a suit with an upright piano in the room, and a Chekhov’s google search of Nembutal in his browser history.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026
Not only do the records feature scuff marks and price tags, but poems and doodles—as if the blankness was begging to be filled in.

— Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 May 2026

Definition of blankness

Noun

Bass told The Times that a push to replace McDonnell right before the 2028 Olympic Games would leave the LAPD with a leadership vacuum just as its leaders are supposed to be focused on security plans for that event.

— Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Robot vacuums have been cleaning carpets for 20-plus years, but the Robotin R2 Pro, out this fall, washes and dries them.

— Richard Eisenberg, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of vacuum

Noun

With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
This comes at the same time state Republican party leaders are urging voters to rank Republicans on the ballot and leave the Democrats blank.

— Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of blank

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empties

emptiness

empty

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“Emptiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emptiness. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of emptiness

noun

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