emptiness

[ emp-tee-nis ]

noun

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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Origin of emptiness

They are afflicted with “progressive spiritual emptiness,” he said, which no amount of academic honors and degrees can fill.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s' | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Netherland, published in 2008, attempted to capture a feeling of emptiness in the West after the catastrophic events of 9/11.
Joseph O'Neill's 'The Dog' Has a Dystopian Dubai as Modernity's Stand-In | J.P. O’Malley | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
When I contemplate God among the dead I find only emptiness and silence.
How Losing My Daughter Changed My Faith | Kyle Cupp | June 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Now I think that many are beginning to experience the rawness of the trauma, emptiness, and loss.
Newtown’s Pastor, Three Months Later | Joshua DuBois | March 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
“I walk around with an emptiness that no one or anything has been able to fill,” she wrote.
34 Years Later, Gunshots Still Echo From a Senseless Killing | Michael Daly | March 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

It felt to him that he simply walked straight out of her life into a world of emptiness and ice and shadows.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
In the desolate emptiness of desert that yawned ahead, he saw this single tree that blossomed, and offered shade.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
All the election officials present check the complete emptiness of the box.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. Torpey
Augustine, however, had been gifted by chance with a spirit lofty enough to feel the emptiness of such a life.
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket | Honore de Balzac
What must be the horror, darkness and emptiness of those living substances that are "inferior" to us?
Tyranny of God | Joseph Lewis

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