emptiness
/ˈɛm(p)tɪnəs
/noun [mass noun]
1The state of containing nothing: the vast emptiness of space...
- On my left, there are several yards of emptiness, then trees.
- Nora, however, had not intended to swap the isolation of north-east Scotland for the vast emptiness of the Canadian prairie.
- There is a wedge of Yorkshire Dales emptiness to explore.
Synonyms
vacantness, bareness, blankness, clearness, barrenness, desolation;
lack of contents, lack of adornment
rare voidness
meaninglessness, hollowness, idleness, ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, uselessness, futility, worthlessness, fruitlessness, insubstantiality
futility, purposelessness, pointlessness, aimlessness, meaninglessness, worthlessness, valuelessness, hollowness, barrenness, senselessness, banality, triviality, insignificance, unimportance
archaic bootlessness
void, vacuum, vacuity, empty space, blank space, gap, vacancy, hiatus, hole, hollow, cavity, chasm, abyss, gulf
blankness, expressionlessness, vacancy, vacantness, vacuousness, glaze, fixedness, woodenness, stoniness, impassivity, emotionlessness, unresponsiveness, inscrutability;
lack of life, lack of animation
2The quality of lacking meaning or sincerity; meaninglessness: he realizes the emptiness of his statement...
- His tossing a TV off a hotel balcony is a staged prank that inadvertently exposes the emptiness of the act.
- The apparent intensity of this backlash masks the real emptiness of such complaints.
- He has "mastered the art of saying nothing" with his excessive use of platitudes of emptiness that reinforce mistaken ideas.
3The quality of having no value or purpose; futility: feelings of emptiness and loneliness...
- In our constant search for happiness in the west, we fill our emptiness with possessions.
- We lived in emptiness, not working or studying.
- Emptiness washed over me from time to time, immersion in work only masked my inner sadness.