emptiness

noun

Definition of emptinessnext
1
as in hunger
a need or desire for food the emptiness that usually sets in about three o'clock in the afternoon

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in void
empty space there in the vast emptiness of the desert was a long-abandoned jeep

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
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 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 Drugs ravaged the streets, leaving needles and even more emptiness in their wake. — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 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 However, at the quantum level, emptiness is filled with unwanted noise. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026 The problem isn’t the characterization, since the surgeon is extremely well drawn and Văncică’s performance picks up on both the overall inner emptiness and the yearning for something more. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026 If the early universe obeyed this rule, our modern cosmos would be devoid of substance, just energy fields rippling eternally through emptiness. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emptiness
  1. hunger
  2. void
  3. vacancy
  4. stomach
  5. blankness
  6. vacuum
  7. appetite
  8. blank
Noun
  • But the top scorer in league history decided his hunger for another title was greater than his desire to stay by Bronny's side.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Existing glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs such as semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, bind to GLP-1 hormone receptors in the brain, where the receptors help regulate hunger.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of hunger
Noun
  • When traditional lenders decline a career without conventional collateral, alternative capital fills the void—often on terms heavily stacked against young players.
    — Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • But now that the company is phasing out Falcons in favor of focusing on Starship, there’s no guarantee Starship will fill the void left behind.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of void
Noun
  • City spokesperson Jennifer Singer said that Smith is focusing on recruitment for Milstein’s role and Dignan’s former role, with no plans to fill the current vacancy.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The district’s 2% vacancy rate, with about 160 openings at the start of the month, is its lowest in recent memory.
    — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of vacancy
Noun
  • Since then researchers have discovered that the Epstein-Barr virus, which is known to cause cancers such as nasal pharyngeal cancers and some forms of lymphoma, is also linked to some stomach cancers and some rarer lymphomas, Clifford says.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The victim was shot in the stomach and was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in good condition.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 28 Sep. 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
  • Inside a vacuum chamber, short pulses of high-energy ultraviolet laser light strike a target.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The products had been vacuum-sealed and packed into cardboard boxes for shipping.
    — Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of vacuum
Noun
  • But with public debt rising and budgets already under strain, governments have little appetite for adding another enormous bill to the public ledger.
    — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The government, unable and unwilling to check their most voracious citizens and appetites, failed to tame the frontier.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of appetite
Noun
  • Multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank exam questions could be quickly and objectively scored.
    — Beth Kania-Gosche, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Another blank in the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Brentford meant Evanilson has not scored a league goal in 14 games dating back to February 28.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of blank

Browse Nearby Words

empties
emptiness
empty
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Cite this Entry

“Emptiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emptiness. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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