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

The current vacant office block at 130 Fenchurch Street, known as Fountain House, will be demolished to make way for two new towers, one with 31 storeys and the other 34.

Read more on BBC

Although Livia's room has been vacant for years, the floral fragrances continue to fill the space like she were still alive.

Read more on BBC

The 20 seats allocated to them will remain vacant until polls can take place.

Read more on BBC

When the nonprofit tried to input that an adult had moved into a bed, Salazar and Hoppmeyer said, the system rejected the person as ineligible and showed a nonexistent vacant bed.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It sat vacant for over 20 years, while animal and human scavengers ransacked the ten-acre site and claimed it for their own, before it was rescued in the 1990s by architectural preservationists.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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