empty word

American  

noun

1. (especially in Chinese grammar) a word or morpheme that has no lexical meaning and that functions as a grammatical link or marker, rather than as a contentive.

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Etymology

Origin of empty word

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Without transparency — and in the submarine deal there was none — alliance, in the French view, becomes an empty word.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2021

We’ll use tail connectors to sort of determine that or maybe an empty word balloon that sort of indicates there’s nothing being spoken or just complete silence and decide on that.

From Slate • Oct. 3, 2017

What girl power was to the 90s, empowerment has become to the 2010s: a catch-all and therefore empty word denoting a watered-down feminism, one beloved of bubbly celebrities and canny advertisers alike.

From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2016

We venerate that empty word, closure, wanting to seal off the pain of the past and refusing it admittance to the chirpy present.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2015

“Thanks,” I tell her, but my whole chest seems to collapse under the effort of that single, empty word.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen