vacant

[vey-kuhnt]

adjective

1. having no contents; empty; void.

   a vacant niche.

2. having no occupant; unoccupied.

   no vacant seats on this train.

3. not in use.

   a vacant room.

4. devoid of thought or reflection.

   a vacant mind.

5. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from lack of thought or intelligence.

   a vacant answer; a vacant expression on a face.

   Synonyms: inane, vacuous, blank

6. not occupied by an incumbent, official, or the like, as a benefice or office.

7. free from work, business, activity, etc..

   vacant hours.

8. characterized by or proceeding from absence of occupation.

   a vacant life.

9. devoid or destitute (often followed byof ).

   He was vacant of human sympathy.

10. Law.

    1. having no tenant and devoid of furniture, fixtures, etc. (unoccupied ).

       a vacant house.

    2. idle or unutilized; open to any claimant, as land.

    3. without an incumbent; having no heir or claimant; abandoned.

       a vacant estate.

vacant

/ ˈveɪkənt /

adjective

1. without any contents; empty

2. devoid (of something specified)

3. having no incumbent; unoccupied

   a vacant post

4. having no tenant or occupant

   a vacant house

5. characterized by or resulting from lack of thought or intelligent awareness

   a vacant stare

6. (of time, etc) not allocated to any activity

   a vacant hour in one's day

7. spent in idleness or inactivity

   a vacant life

8. law (of an estate, etc) having no heir or claimant

Other Word Forms

• vacantly adverb
• vacantness noun
• nonvacant adjective
• nonvacantly adverb
• unvacant adjective
• unvacantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacant¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, Old French, from Latin vacant- (stem of vacāns, present participle of vacāre “to be empty”); -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacant¹

C13: from Latin vacāre to be empty

Synonym Study

See empty.

Example Sentences

But I found the upper decks of the ship nearly always vacant.

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In my current apartment building, two out of the five apartments are vacant and I rarely see my neighbors.

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The vacant unit, which spans around 1,000 square feet, hit the market a few months ago for $4,500 per month.

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As of May, the bureau had 53 field investigators responsible for covering the entire state and 14 vacant positions.

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Cars in their assigned parking spots; a stray cat, the one Michael had secretly named Tuxedo, slinking around the bushes; Mr. Mosley, the maintenance man, hefting a can of paint toward a vacant apartment.

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Related Words

• bare 
• deserted 
• idle 
• unemployed 
• unfilled 
• uninhabited 
• unused