hollow-eyed

American

[hol-oh-ahyd] / ˈhɒl oʊˌaɪd /

adjective

having sunken eyes.

hollow-eyed British

adjective

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.

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

School district lawyers, contrary to popular belief and Disney Channel sitcoms are not hollow-eyed pencil pushers, who live to squelch liberty and creativity in red tape and regulation.

From Slate • Jun. 29, 2022

In one story, a hollow-eyed masseuse mourns the abrupt, outwardly random death of her son and the loss of her business to the pandemic as her wastrel husband dreams and schemes.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2022

“How’s it going?” he asked the hollow-eyed face on the screen.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2021

Too often men stood hollow-eyed and women wept in doorways as Roger loaded onto a truck the last of their possessions, destined not for another home but for an auction house.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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