emptiness

[emp-tee-nis]

noun

1. the fact or state of containing nothing or of being without the usual or appropriate contents.

   All morning the emptiness of the cupboard, the thought of the house without even tea or butter, had been troubling him.

2. the fact or state of being without human occupants or human activity.

   A broad, slanting patch of sunshine cut across the gloomy, lifeless emptiness of the church.

3. empty or barren space; void.

   If we leave today we can reach the outpost by the 27th—through another 800 miles of flat, windy emptiness.

4. the fact or quality of being without force or effect; hollowness.

   Continued support for brutal regimes reveals the hypocrisy and emptiness of the administration’s professed goal of spreading democracy.

5. the quality or feeling of being without significance or purpose; meaninglessness.

   In the 21st century we are more likely to experience aimlessness and emptiness than guilt.

6. the fact or quality of being unoccupied by useful work or activity; idleness.

   An active man, not yet sixty, he was unused to the emptiness of his days after he retired.

7. the fact or quality of being completely spent or drained emotionally by trauma.

   Many women describe a feeling of numbness and emptiness following a miscarriage.

Other Word Forms

• self-emptiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of emptiness¹

empty ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

But the filmmaker often expressed a sense of emptiness despite his success.

From BBC

The emptiness of the courts is noticeable on Centre Court and Court One, where the vast space behind the baseline is now occupied only by the ball kids.

From BBC

You see the emptiness in the local neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's a feeling of helplessness, emptiness, normally if something goes wrong, we can sort things out but this has been very difficult."

From BBC

Over three verses, Louane describes the "emptiness" she was felt; and how she filled the void with bad behaviour and meaningless love affairs.

From BBC

Related Words

• desolation 
• vacuum