1
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
a great vacuous space that should have been filled with an audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a movie that was enthusiastically derided for its vacuous dialogue
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 vacuous
The mainstream consensus solidified: The robbery was karma, comeuppance, a corrective to all that vacuous extravagance and clueless exhibitionism.
—
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
Travis is one of the most vacuous stars the major labels have ever produced, a machine for turning the work of more interesting rappers into garbled playlist slop.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
But in the age of vacuous content, sketchy White lucks into camp, turning ’90s character actresses Jennifer Coolidge and Parker Posey into gay icons, both good actresses reduced to doing misogynistic drag acts.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Apr. 2025
There have been headline-grabbing declarations about AI on a nation-state level that often were vacuous.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacuous
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
Travis is one of the most vacuous stars the major labels have ever produced, a machine for turning the work of more interesting rappers into garbled playlist slop.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
But in the age of vacuous content, sketchy White lucks into camp, turning ’90s character actresses Jennifer Coolidge and Parker Posey into gay icons, both good actresses reduced to doing misogynistic drag acts.
—Armond White, National Review, 9 Apr. 2025
There have been headline-grabbing declarations about AI on a nation-state level that often were vacuous.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacuous
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
-
Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
-
Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Adjective
-
The actor is actually photographed on an empty set, with one or two life-size props to give him his bearings; meanwhile, another camera superimposes the miniature set, in sync with the first camera.—
Andrew Tobias,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
-
Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer campripped apart by flash floods that washed homes off their foundations and killed at least 82 people in central Texas.—
Brit Morse,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
Instead, the series seems determined to prove that age is just a number by forcing its leads, now including Choudhury and Parker, to act as if 50 is the new (and very stupid) 30.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
-
Jurassic Park, based on the Michael Crichton best-seller, is an evolutionary joke: Man, the master of the universe, has become mere flesh, consumed by animals allegedly too stupid to survive.—
David Denby,
Vulture,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
Work and plans are changing what was once a barren landscape into a new neighborhood.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
-
As the moon progresses through the different phases of the lunar calendar, the sun's light throws new impact sites, barren plains, and swathes of broken landscapes into relief as prime targets for amateur astronomers wielding binoculars and backyard telescopes.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
The whales often appear unbothered, turning gently toward swimmers or drifting by in slow, graceful passes.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
5 July 2025
-
Now, in the new study, researchers have gathered data that supports the theory that the demise of tropical forests, and their slow recovery, limited carbon sequestration – a process where carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in plants, soils or minerals.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
5 July 2025
Adjective
-
Nearby is the kitchen, which is compact and simple as standard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 July 2025
-
These patterns are muted, simple, and still full of personality, like this pillow cover in indigo which looks exactly suited to a couch in a captain’s quarters, yacht-appropriate, or like a great porch nap pillow along a white rattan sofa.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Politicians in the state said this was because of a loophole in the original bill that allowed the sale of thicker, reusable plastic bags at the checkout stand.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA Today,
30 June 2025
-
Still the aftertaste of raspberry filling clings to her soft palate, as thick and heady and floral as menstrual blood.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacuous. Accessed 17 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share