1
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
the refrigerator is empty, so we'll have to eat out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in meaningless
having no meaning
spare me your empty apologies because if you were truly sorry, you'd change
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in worthless
having no usefulness
an empty task that was assigned just to keep us busy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
all of the leads in the missing-person case were turning up empty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in blank
not expressing any emotion
the speaker looked out at a crowd of empty faces
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 empty
Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 24 June 2025
Water bottles, whether full or empty, cannot be brought into the concert.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
After Trump's Warning Downtown Tehran began to empty early Tuesday.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for empty
Adjective
There are signs this isn't the usual empty rhetoric.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 24 June 2025
Water bottles, whether full or empty, cannot be brought into the concert.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
Verb
From there, the development team empties their notebook of all the eccentric ideas that didn’t make the cut the first time around.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
After Trump's Warning Downtown Tehran began to empty early Tuesday.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for empty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for empty
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
-
That's because tomatoes are notoriously hungry for nutrients, and broccoli will compete for the same selection of nutrients in the soil.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
29 June 2025
-
Meanwhile, hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza.—
WAFAA SHURAFA,
Arkansas Online,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Americans face Haiti in a meaningless group-stage match Sunday before awaiting their yet-unknown quarters foe. 6.—
Greg Cote
June 22,
Miami Herald,
22 June 2025
-
If the packaging is inaccessible, the exemption is meaningless.—
Bill Schiffmiller,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
Another’s insurer paid close to $1 million in a single year for worthless care.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
14 May 2025
-
And the further fragmentation of the media landscape doesn’t mean that prime time has suddenly turned into worthless real estate.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Barca even took a legal case against the regulations to a Catalan court but were unsuccessful.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
-
Their efforts were unsuccessful, paving the way for Read's retrial this spring.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
The first Tron had played out as a series of face-offs featuring glowing figures against a black background, replicating the blank environment of an arcade screen.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
-
Wear it as a blank canvas, or switch things up with a statement belt.—
Catie Pusateri,
Glamour,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Fordow was reportedly evacuated before the U.S. strike, and key centrifuge and uranium stockpiles are now unaccounted for and instead of neutralizing Iran's nuclear capabilities, the war may have pushed Tehran closer to covert weaponization under a hardened doctrine, Toossi said.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
-
Rescue teams are evacuating the body of a hiker who fell into an active volcano three days ago and has died, Indonesia park officials and the victim's family reported Tuesday, June 24.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
Richards’ finish saved the U.S. in what was otherwise a listless appearance in front of a barren home crowd at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
-
Transatlantic flights from northern Europe — London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen — routinely cross the southern half of the island, the bright, barren ice sheet often visible for up to an hour of cruising speed.—
Morten Høi Jensen,
The Dial,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Empty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empty. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share