Synonyms for empty
- adjective
- verb
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Void — devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant
void, vacant, blank, unoccupied, bare, desolate, clean informal, clear, lifeless, barren, deserted, destitute, lonely, uninhabited, waste, white, light, free, glassy, jejune, devoid dated, untenanted rare
2. Hollow
hollow, vacuous, unfilled, meaningless, airy, senseless, vain, silly, insignificant, frivolous, inane, frothy, fond, idle dated
Other
Verb
Definitions
- adj. 1
Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
- adj. 2
Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
- v. 1
To make empty; to remove the contents of.
to empty a well or a cistern
- v. 2
Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.
Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.
Related words
Forms
- Past participle
- emptied
e.g. emptied → vacated, abandoned, evacuated, unloaded…
Choose the right word
That is empty which contains nothing; that is vacant which is without that which has filled or might be expected to fill it; vacant has extensive reference to rights or possibilities of occupancy. A vacant room may not be empty, and an empty house may not be vacant.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- blank Arthur just stares at a blank wall for meditation.
- void The beach was completely void of any other people.
- vacant How about playing catch in the vacant lot near by?
- unoccupied Paul checked the stall to see that it was unoccupied.
- hollow Near Sleepy Hollow is a village called Tarry Town.
- vacuous Another unbearably vacuous title!
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| empty | rising | |
| blank | rising | |
| void | steady | |
| vacant | falling | |
| unoccupied | steady | |
| hollow | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- free1, bare1, void1, fond1, vain1, idle2, airy2
- 5 letters
- white1, light1, clear1, drive1, clean1, waste1, silly2, blank1, drain1, windy2, inane2
- 6 letters
- hungry2, lonely2, hollow2, vacant2, barren2, devoid2, unload2, vacate2, glassy2, frothy2, jejune2
- 7 letters
- abandon3, exhaust2, drained1, deplete2, vacuous3
- 8 letters
- deserted3, depleted3, evacuate4, desolate3, lifeless2, unfilled2, unburden3
- 9 letters
- discharge2, senseless2, frivolous3, destitute3
- 10 letters
- unoccupied4, untenanted
- 11 letters
- meaningless3, undeveloped4, uninhabited5
- 12 letters
- unsatisfying5
- 13 letters
- insignificant5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (idle2 = 2 syllables).