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View synonyms for empty

empty

[ emp-tee ]

adjective

, emp·ti·er, emp·ti·est.
  1. containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents:

    an empty bottle.

    Antonyms: full

  2. having no occupant or occupants; vacant; unoccupied:

    an empty house.

  3. without cargo or load:

    an empty wagon.

  4. destitute of people or human activity:

    We walked along the empty streets of the city at night.

  5. destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid (usually followed by of ):

    Theirs is a life now empty of happiness.

  6. without force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless:

    empty compliments;

    empty pleasures.

    Synonyms: vain, useless, pointless, ineffectual, ineffective, futile, bootless, barren

  7. not employed in useful activity or work; idle:

    empty summer days.

  8. Mathematics. (of a set) containing no elements; null; void.
  9. I'm feeling rather empty—let's have lunch.

  10. without knowledge or sense; frivolous; senseless:

    an empty head.

  11. completely spent of emotion:

    The experience had left him with an empty heart.



verb (used with object)

, emp·tied, emp·ty·ing.
  1. to make empty; deprive of contents; discharge the contents of:

    to empty a bucket.

    Synonyms: unload, clear

  2. to discharge (contents):

    to empty the water out of a bucket.

verb (used without object)

, emp·tied, emp·ty·ing.
  1. to become empty:

    The room emptied rapidly after the lecture.

  2. to discharge contents, as a river:

    The river empties into the sea.

noun

, plural emp·ties.
  1. Informal. something that is empty, as a box, bottle, or can:

    Throw the empties into the waste bin.

empty

/ ˈɛmptɪ /

adjective

  1. containing nothing
  2. without inhabitants; vacant or unoccupied
  3. carrying no load, passengers, etc
  4. without purpose, substance, or value

    an empty life

  5. insincere or trivial

    empty words

  6. not expressive or vital; vacant

    she has an empty look

  7. informal.
    hungry
  8. postpositivefoll byof devoid; destitute

    a life empty of happiness

  9. informal.
    drained of energy or emotion

    after the violent argument he felt very empty

  10. maths logic (of a set or class) containing no members
  11. philosophy logic (of a name or description) having no reference
“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


verb

  1. to make or become empty
  2. whenintr, foll by into to discharge (contents)
  3. troften foll byof to unburden or rid (oneself)

    to empty oneself of emotion

“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

noun

  1. an empty container, esp a bottle
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈemptiable, adjective
  • ˈemptier, noun
  • ˈemptily, adverb
  • ˈemptiness, noun
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Other Words From

  • emp·ti·a·ble adjective
  • emp·ti·er noun
  • emp·ti·ly adverb
  • emp·ti·ness noun
  • o·ver·emp·ty adjective
  • qua·si-emp·ty adjective
  • self-emp·ty·ing adjective
  • un·emp·tied adjective
  • un·emp·ty adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of empty1

First recorded before 900; Middle English (with intrusive -p- ); Old English ǣm(et)tig “vacant,” from ǣm(et)ta “rest, leisure” ( ǣ- a- 3 + unattested Germanic mōtithō “accommodation”; must 1, meet 1 ) + -ig -y 1 )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of empty1

Old English ǣmtig, from æmetta free time, from æ- without + -metta, from mōtan to be obliged to; see must 1
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Idioms and Phrases

  • glass is half full (half empty)
  • running on empty
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Synonym Study

Empty, vacant, blank, void denote absence of content or contents. Empty means without appropriate or accustomed contents: an empty refrigerator. Vacant is usually applied to that which is temporarily unoccupied: a vacant chair; three vacant apartments. Blank applies to surfaces free from any marks or lacking appropriate markings, openings, etc.: blank paper; a blank wall. Void emphasizes completely unfilled space with vague, unspecified, or no boundaries: void and without form.
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Example Sentences

He defied the atheism of communism and the empty religious practices of Putinism.

Otherwise, we will be but celebrating an empty holiday, missing its true meaning altogether.

Later schools empty out children, who race over to play games in the shade.

On Thursday, Russian bloggers published pictures of empty shelves in stores that once sold electric goods.

If they are in fact linked to North Korea, the threat may not be as empty as people think.

Herein he found an empty stall that was dark enough not to be seen, and still afforded sufficient light to read in.

When the funeral was over, and they returned to their desolate home, at the sight of the empty cradle Ramona broke down.

A quite young child will, for example, pretend to do something, as to take an empty cup and carry out the semblance of drinking.

For his heart seemed alternately full and empty; all the life he had was centred there.

In Flanders, he says, they would never attack with empty limbers behind them; they would wait till they were full up.

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More About Empty

What is a basic definition of empty?

Empty describes something as containing nothing or to remove contents from something. Empty also describes something that is meaningless. Empty has several other senses as an adjective and a verb.

If something is empty, there is nothing in it. Empty is the opposite of full and is used to describe anything that has a complete absence of contents. Sometimes, empty has slightly different specific meanings depending on context. For example, an empty room might only lack people or it might be totally bare, with no furniture. Empty is also used in many figurative expressions, such as “an empty head,” meaning the person is unintelligent.

  • Real-life examples: An empty box has nothing inside it. An empty refrigerator has no food or anything else inside of it. An empty gascan has zero gas in it.
  • Used in a sentence: Luis drank the bottle of soda until it was totally empty. 

In a similar sense, empty is used as a verb to mean to remove contents from something or to become empty.

  • Used in a sentence: Antonio emptied the bucket of water into the river. 

As an adjective, empty can also describe something as being meaningless or hollow.

  • Real-life examples: If you give an empty compliment, you don’t actually mean the compliment or believe it to be true. An empty gesture is one that you don’t intend on doing or that won’t have any effect, like offering to help your friend with math when you don’t understand the math problems, either. If you have an empty life, you think your life doesn’t have any meaning or purpose.
  • Used in a sentence: My sister laughed at my empty threats of breaking her smartphone because she knew I would never actually do it. 

Where does empty come from?

The first records of empty come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English ǣmtig, meaning “vacant,” which comes from æmetta, meaning “free time” or “leisure.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to empty?

  • emptiness (noun)
  • emptiable (adjective)
  • emptier (noun)
  • emptily (adverb)
  • overempty (adjective)
  • quasi-empty (adjective)
  • self-emptiness (noun)
  • self-emptying (adjective)
  • unemptied (adjective)
  • unempty (adjective)

What are some synonyms for empty?

What are some words that share a root or word element with empty

What are some words that often get used in discussing empty?

How is empty used in real life?

Empty is a very common word used to describe things that have nothing in them.

Try using empty!

Is empty used correctly in the following sentence?

There was too much paint in the bucket so I emptied it until it was only half-full.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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