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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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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1
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
the refrigerator is empty, so we'll have to eat out
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2
as in hungry
feeling a desire or need for food
as the long car trip wore on, we all started to feel a little empty
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3
as in meaningless
having no meaning
spare me your empty apologies because if you were truly sorry, you'd change
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4
as in worthless
having no usefulness
an empty task that was assigned just to keep us busy
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5
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
all of the leads in the missing-person case were turning up empty
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6
as in blank
not expressing any emotion
the speaker looked out at a crowd of empty faces
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of emptiness
MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025
Drowning in an indescribable emptiness, Day chases Dusk to the throne room and beats the ever-living hell out of him, but Dusk has something Day doesn’t — nanites.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2025
As the musicians set up onstage, facing the empty row of seats, Campbell began to realize the rationale behind that scenario, even if it wasn’t fully explained to him.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2025
Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Its anti-allergen filter traps dander and pet hair, and its bagless design makes emptying easy.
—Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for emptiness
Noun
When people are directed to fill their spiritual emptiness with rage, the social outcome is predictably tragic.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025
Drowning in an indescribable emptiness, Day chases Dusk to the throne room and beats the ever-living hell out of him, but Dusk has something Day doesn’t — nanites.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
An empty pan can reach dangerously high temperatures in just minutes, causing the coating to break down.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2025
As the musicians set up onstage, facing the empty row of seats, Campbell began to realize the rationale behind that scenario, even if it wasn’t fully explained to him.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
Officials committed to spending $225,000 a month for 53 rooms through year’s end — despite having just told nonprofit shelter managers to ensure those rooms emptied out.
—Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Its anti-allergen filter traps dander and pet hair, and its bagless design makes emptying easy.
—Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for emptiness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emptiness
Noun
-
Scenes from Gaza of devastation and hunger, as well as a famine declaration, have prompted outrage around the world and left Israel isolated diplomatically.—
Yamiche Alcindor,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
-
For those who remain, daily life is defined by loss, exhaustion, and extreme hunger.—
Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But carpe diem for Egbuka, who is a massive enough talent to step into this void and withstand extra defensive attention.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Aiming to fill a void in the female nerd and nerds of color space on screen, filmmaker Cheyenne Ewulu followed the bat signal.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The reality is Schwarber and Realmuto might represent the two best options the Phillies have to fill those vacancies.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
In May, the region’s federal district court judges appointed her as a magistrate judge to fill a vacancy.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
-
That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
There was some fatigue in our performance, but the group are always so professional and so hungry to win.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Visibly hungry for a goal, Messi missed an opportunity to join the scoresheet in the 54th minute.—
Franco Panizo,
Miami Herald,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Trivial, meaningless or low-quality media that have perceived negative effects.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Zhu compared himself to an old official under a new emperor; the change had left him with little to do but punch in and write meaningless reports.—
Lavender Au,
The Dial,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Instead, Marks was almost worthless in fantasy while Chubb salvaged his day with a long TD jaunt.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The current discount rate means that the government views the long-term future of humanity as not metaphorically but literally worthless.—
Geoff Mann,
The New York Review of Books,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The pose Harris struck and held through her unsuccessful 2024 campaign for the White House is called the good soldier.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
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Now, after years of mostly unsuccessful efforts to eliminate windows from cabins, one luxury jet maker appears to be on the verge of doing just that.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Emptiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emptiness. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
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