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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 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 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
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
  • DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and helped fill the void when Allisha Gray went down with a left hand injury in the second quarter.
    — Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • All but Lightfoot ended up returning, but their temporary absences forced Cristobal to rotate in a lot more players to fill the void.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of void
Noun
  • If the vacancy remains, district judges may appoint a prosecutor to serve until the president nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The mall does not disclose specific vacancy information, but Richardson said demand for space remains strong.
    — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of vacancy
Noun
  • Wells' family and their lawyers disputed the grand jury's findings, pointing to unexplained bruising on the back of his head and noting that his airways and stomach were devoid of water.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Keith died in February 2024 following a battle with stomach cancer.
    — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 5 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
  • The central reaction occurs inside a fortified vacuum chamber.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
  • That solution is not viable in the vacuum of space, where there are no air molecules to aid the process.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of vacuum
Noun
  • Of note for more adventurous appetites are the oxtail and blue cheese pizza or Zambian whole bream fish.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The asset manager is among a growing number of global firms in Abu Dhabi’s financial center, ADGM, drawn by proximity to sovereign wealth funds like ADIA and Mubadala, family offices, and the region’s expanding appetite for private credit.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of appetite
Noun
  • And while the finished home is indeed roughly 80 percent vintage (about half of it came from Somerset House’s own inventory), Eckstein knew the home’s blank, cookie-cutter palette needed the biggest intervention.
    — Keith Flanagan, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Today, the German automaker is finally starting to fill in the blanks on the i3.
    — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of blank

Browse Nearby Words

empties
emptiness
empty
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Emptiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emptiness. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of etiquette

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All