emptiness

American  

[emp-tee-nis] / ˈɛmp ti nɪs /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• self-emptiness noun

Etymology

Origin of emptiness

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

Explanation

Has your girlfriend left you? Your boss fired you and your dog run away from home? Then you're probably feeling a state of emptiness, a condition of meaninglessness or futility. Cheer up, you could try writing a country music song. Although the emotional sense of emptiness is the most common, it can also mean a literal state of physical emptiness -— as in "the emptiness of space." Either way, emptiness might seem like a pretty bad thing, but consider the Bhuddist understanding of the term, for whom emptiness is in fact the ultimate virtue: “Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities,” said the famous Japanese teacher, D. T. Suzuki.

Example Sentences

Coulson's twin said she had been left with an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Heraskevych meanwhile told the BBC that being banned only left him feeling "emptiness."

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

There is only emptiness: a hollow space where a heart should be, ready to be filled with cold, hard cash.

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2025

The score goes on for the next hour to allude to a surreal emptiness.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025

I sit with my back against the wall and feel the emptiness all around me.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Related Words

• desolation
• vacuum