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
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of emptiness
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
With the world in lockdown in 2020, WWE was forced to hold WrestleMania 36 at its empty Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
Ethan Bauer, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2025
Krishnan emptied his shelves of American alcohol back in early March, even before Quebec’s liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec, or SAQ, announced that bars and liquor stores would no longer be able to get U.S. wines and spirits.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for emptiness
Adjective
Preliminary necropsy findings indicated the mammal was thin with an empty gastro-instestinal tract and little digestive material present, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the organization that conducted the testing, found.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
With the world in lockdown in 2020, WWE was forced to hold WrestleMania 36 at its empty Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
At the end, though, her purse of forgiveness had finally been emptied.
—Ethan Bauer, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2025
Krishnan emptied his shelves of American alcohol back in early March, even before Quebec’s liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec, or SAQ, announced that bars and liquor stores would no longer be able to get U.S. wines and spirits.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for emptiness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emptiness
Noun
-
Lack of water affects agriculture, as in much of southern Africa, where a drought parched crops and livestock and put 90 million people in danger of acute hunger, according to a United Nations report last month.—
Mark Gongloff,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
He has been outspoken about the ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza.—
Leah Sarnoff,
ABC News,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
But after Thornton was ruled out for the rest of the season, the first-time All-Star left a void in Golden State’s rotation.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
To celebrate her life and her work, without forgetting the painful void left by her death.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
In Detroit, vacancy rates in these properties fell from 5.4% to just 1.3% by the end of 2024.—
Gleb Tsipursky,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Even in downtown San Diego, California's office vacancy rate increased by almost 30%, the highest percentage seen in the last two decades.—
Dr. Dick Bridy,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 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
-
Delle, devoid for so long from its intrinsic need for social interaction might be filling in the gaps by talking to himself.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
14 Feb. 2023
Adjective
-
What they’re really known for, though, is their grass-fed, local beef burgers and hearty portions—so make sure to come hungry.—
Angela Lian,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
-
What hungry kids really need is better politicians, served up with a side of common sense and a dash of compassion.—
Pat Beall,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Without fairness, the test (and winning) becomes meaningless—and for the rest of us, a huge bummer.—
Lindsey Witmer Collins,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The protester specifically said a letter Casten signed that day along with more than 90 other House Democrats, demanding an investigation into starvation reports in Gaza, was meaningless.—
Hank Beckman,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Greenwashing is controversial, with clubs sometimes hiding behind worthless carbon credits or offsetting emissions to make claims of climate leadership rather than seeking ways to actually reduce their emissions.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Anything less than a total social reckoning—a complete psychological makeover of white America—was worthless.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
As in the first case, life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
18 Aug. 2025
-
According to the coroner, the umbilical cord was not cut and an attempt to deliver the placenta at an unknown time the next morning was unsuccessful.—
David Chiu,
People.com,
17 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Emptiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emptiness. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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