vacant

[ vey-kuhnt ]
See synonyms for vacant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having no contents; empty; void: a vacant niche.

  2. having no occupant; unoccupied: no vacant seats on this train.

  1. not in use: a vacant room.

  2. devoid of thought or reflection: a vacant mind.

  3. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from lack of thought or intelligence: a vacant answer; a vacant expression on a face.

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

  5. free from work, business, activity, etc.: vacant hours.

  6. characterized by or proceeding from absence of occupation: a vacant life.

  7. devoid or destitute (often followed by of): He was vacant of human sympathy.

  8. Law.

    • having no tenant and devoid of furniture, fixtures, etc. (distinguished from unoccupied): a vacant house.

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

    • without an incumbent; having no heir or claimant; abandoned: a vacant estate.

Origin of vacant

1
First recorded in1250–1300; Middle English, Old French, from Latin vacant- (stem of vacāns, present participle of vacāre “to be empty”); see -ant

synonym study For vacant

1, 2. See empty.

Other words for vacant

Other words from vacant

  • va·cant·ly, adverb
  • va·cant·ness, noun
  • non·va·cant, adjective
  • non·va·cant·ly, adverb
  • un·va·cant, adjective
  • un·va·cant·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with vacant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vacant in a sentence

  • As he entered, Mr. Ducksmith regarded him vacantly over the top of his gold-rimmed glasses.

  • She vacantly hummed a fantastic tune as she poked at the wood embers on the hearth and munched a cracker.

  • He stepped to me, as I sat there in the chair staring vacantly into the fire, and laid a hand on my shoulder.

  • He noticed them vacantly and took a curious impersonal interest in the two dim figures standing close together outside the window.

    Winston of the Prairie | Harold Bindloss
  • Winston looked steadily in front of him, vacantly noticing the rows of faces turned towards him under the big lamps.

    Winston of the Prairie | Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for vacant

vacant

/ (ˈveɪkənt) /


adjective
  1. without any contents; empty

  2. (postpositive foll by of) devoid (of something specified)

  1. having no incumbent; unoccupied: a vacant post

  2. having no tenant or occupant: a vacant house

  3. characterized by or resulting from lack of thought or intelligent awareness: a vacant stare

  4. (of time, etc) not allocated to any activity: a vacant hour in one's day

  5. spent in idleness or inactivity: a vacant life

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

Origin of vacant

1
C13: from Latin vacāre to be empty

Derived forms of vacant

  • vacantly, adverb
  • vacantness, noun

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