hollow 1 of 3

hollow

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noun

hollow

3 of 3

verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hollow distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of hollow are empty, idle, nugatory, otiose, and vain. While all these words mean "being without worth or significance," empty and hollow suggest a deceiving lack of real substance or soundness or genuineness.

an empty attempt at reconciliation
a hollow victory

When is it sensible to use idle instead of hollow?

Although the words idle and hollow have much in common, idle suggests being incapable of worthwhile use or effect.

idle speculations

When could nugatory be used to replace hollow?

The synonyms nugatory and hollow are sometimes interchangeable, but nugatory suggests triviality or insignificance.

a monarch with nugatory powers

When can otiose be used instead of hollow?

In some situations, the words otiose and hollow are roughly equivalent. However, otiose suggests that something serves no purpose and is either an encumbrance or a superfluity.

a film without a single otiose scene

Where would vain be a reasonable alternative to hollow?

While in some cases nearly identical to hollow, vain implies either absolute or relative absence of value.

vain promises

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 hollow
Adjective
Alternate between a hollow back (cat) and a curved back (cow) to mobilize the spine. Claudia Herwig, Glamour, 20 May 2025 After a month of bombing the Houthis to a stalemate at a cost of $1 billion, this threat rings a bit hollow. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2025
Noun
The female moths deposit their almost invisible eggs in places where spider webs are likely to form, especially rotten logs, tree hollows and rock cavities. Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025 Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural areas of the state, where floodwaters can quickly rush off the mountains into the hollows. CBS News, 3 Apr. 2025
Verb
According to their analysis of the P-waves and S-waves detected by SEIS, there is water in the porous rock, filling the cracks and hollows between 6 and 12 miles (10 and 20 kilometers) deep. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2025 Nearby, New York-based, Peru-produced Sordo’s killer hollow polished bronze and silver showed why designers are turning to other metals to combat the ever-rising price of gold. Kate Matthams, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hollow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hollow
Adjective
  • With a 5,000-seat auditorium and a concave roof referencing the curve of Asante royal stools, it was intended to be much more than just a cathedral.
    Francis Kokoroko, New York Times, 3 May 2025
  • One side of the chest piece is flat and called the diaphragm, and the other is concave and called the bell.4 The flat or diaphragm side of the chest piece is usually used to listen to heart sounds.
    Patty Weasler, RN, BSN, Verywell Health, 13 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • For decades, conservationists successfully plugged that hole by arguing in court that the ESA’s prohibition of harm to individual species includes destroying a species’ habitat.
    Emma Marris, The Atlantic, 25 May 2025
  • Other cavity nesters such as woodpeckers will make holes in trees, and those can also be adopted by tree swallows, flickers, kestrels and chickadees.
    Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025
Noun
  • The juxtaposition of 2025 to 2000 belies the occasional peaks and longer stretches in the valley that the franchise has experienced in that time.
    Tim Britton, New York Times, 30 May 2025
  • On Friday, temperatures in Southern California are expected to range from eight to 16 degrees above normal, with highs in the 90s to just above 100 degrees across the valleys, lower mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office.
    Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • Other fragments from the site appear to have flaked off large columns that once supported the villa’s porticoed garden: They’re composed of curved stucco gouged with decorative vertical lines, meant to make the columns fluted.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2025
  • However, because of the platform’s independent storefront model, Depop has limited regulations in place to monitor issues such as price gouging on hard to come by products.
    Elizabeth Grace Coyne, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Reckoning’s convoluted plot concerns Ethan and his team’s mission to retrieve the Entity’s source code from that sunken submarine, which Ethan must do, with (of course) limited time and resources, in this set piece.
    Jason Bailey, Vulture, 24 May 2025
  • Among the many highlights is a sunken fireside living room boasting a large arched picture window overlooking the backyard.
    Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • In Haiti’s case, neither a recent U.S. designation of the armed groups as terrorist organizations nor a multinational force led by Kenya has made a dent in the gangs’ ability to sow chaos.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 31 May 2025
  • Thus, minimum payments don’t make a dent in your loan’s principal.
    Christine Benz, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Noun
  • The cyclist was helped from the ravine and emergency services transported him on a stretcher to the hospital.
    Natasha Dye, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 May 2025
Verb
  • The sprawling but penetrating 4½ hour documentary about French complicity with its Nazi captors during the war exploded the myth that the French resisted their occupiers.
    Richard Natale, Variety, 26 May 2025
  • The difference between the two can be broken down as follows: Mineral Sunscreens Mineral sunscreens, also known as physical sunscreens, block the sun’s harmful UV rays from penetrating the skin.
    Audrey Noble, Vogue, 26 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hollow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hollow. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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