vacuity

American  

[va-kyoo-i-tee, vuh-] / væˈkju ɪ ti, və- /

noun

• vacuities
  plural

1. the state of being vacuous or without contents; vacancy; emptiness.

   the vacuity of the open sea.

2. absence of thought or intelligence; inanity; blankness.

   a mind of undeniable vacuity.

3. a time or state of dullness, lacking in mental or physical action or productivity.

   the vacuity of modern existence.

4. an empty space; void.

   a vacuity in the earth formed by erosion.

5. absence or lack of something specified.

   a vacuity of feeling.

6. something inane, senseless, or stupid.

   conversation full of vacuities.

7. a vacuum.

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vacuity British  

/ væˈkjuːɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being vacuous; emptiness

2. an empty space or void; vacuum

3. a lack or absence of something specified

   a vacuity of wind

4. lack of normal intelligence or awareness; vacancy

   his stare gave an impression of complete vacuity

5. something, such as a statement, saying, etc, that is inane or pointless

6. (in customs terminology) the difference in volume between the actual contents of a container and its full capacity

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vacuities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vacuity

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin vacuitās; see vacuous, -ity

Explanation

When you refer to something that is not there, you can refer to its vacuity. A stern teacher who is criticizing an empty-headed English essay might talk about its vacuity, or the absence of any real substance. This abstract noun is derived from the adjective vacuous, which means "like or of a vacuum." Vacuity is rarely used to refer to actual vacuums; it is instead used to disparage arguments, morals, and undertakings that lack proper substance. These transferred meanings are more common for the adjective as well. Use them both sparingly: they are nearly always a marker that you have your judgment hat on!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vacuity vacuities

The vacuity of that rationale needs to be emphasized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

His article in Harper’s has something of Joan Didion’s wry bemusement about the vacuity of modern celebrity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

This moral vacuity provides the spectacle, as H.G.

From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2023

Suddaby’s analysis shows the vacuity of Bruen’s history-only test.

From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2022

He reached for the doorknob that opened the way out into the unlit hall, then shrank back as he glimpsed the vacuity of the rest of the building.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

The present possession fills not up the vacuities of the heart, without the supply of our imaginations, by taking so much in upon the head of the morrow, to speak so.

From The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning by Hugh Binning

The side of the head is occupied by four vacuities, separated by narrow bars of bone.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by H. G. Seeley

If the eye may be judge, iron must be reckoned to have a great many vacuities, and to be porous like a honey-comb, yet it is the dullest, and sounds worse than any other metal.

From Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3: Essays and Miscellanies by Plutarch

The head has the same four lateral vacuities, but the nostril is relatively small and elongated, extending partly above the oval antorbital opening, which was larger.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by H. G. Seeley

They are windows opening on a world as small as your bound feet, a world of ignorances, and vacuities, and kitchen-gods.

From Profiles from China by Eunice Tietjens