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Synonyms

hollow-eyed

American  
[hol-oh-ahyd] / ˈhɒl oʊˌaɪd /

adjective

  1. having sunken eyes.


hollow-eyed British  

adjective

  1. with the eyes appearing to be sunk into the face, as from excessive fatigue

"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

Etymology

Origin of hollow-eyed

First recorded in 1520–30


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:

The pictures show a pallid, hollow-eyed man, resembling Poe, who’s sitting by the fire in his dressing gown when there comes a gentle “rapping, rapping” at the door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

At the Minsk airport, Iraqi families slumped hollow-eyed in seats as the plane was delayed several hours.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2021

Republican Richard Nixon, who had been sick and in the hospital, looked hollow-eyed and had a five o’clock shadow.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2020

There’s far more turbulence onboard, where the hollow-eyed man and a handful of others rise before the sun and work into the night, though work is too dignified a word to describe this hell.

From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2020

Snuffy unwrapped one, holding in his hand an awkward wooden carving of a hollow-eyed and gaunt virgin squeezing a bellowing fat kid against her breasts.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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