Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Empson

American  
[emp-suhn] / ˈɛmp sən /

noun

  1. William, 1906–84, English critic and poet.


Empson British  
/ ˈɛmpsən /

noun

  1. Sir William. 1906–84, English poet and critic; author of Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But if anyone can, he’s the guy,” Empson remembers the guide saying.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 24, 2026

“Colleagues have enjoyed a taste of independence, if not of freedom,” says Laura Empson, a professor of the management of professional service firms at Bayes Business School at City, University of London.

From New York Times May 11, 2023

It may have been Empson who donated the four volumes of The English Flora to the RHS library before her death in 1948.

From BBC Jul. 16, 2021

A photograph of my hero, the English critic William Empson, playing softball in 1950 while teaching that summer at Kenyon College.

From Washington Post Dec. 29, 2020

He lifts an opinion from Coleridge, takes something else from Frye or Empson or Leavis.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training