EMPTINESS Definition & Meaning

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emptiness

[ emp-tee-nis ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the fact or state of containing nothing or of being without the usual or appropriate contents:
All morning the emptiness of the cupboard, the thought of the house without even tea or butter, had been troubling him.
the fact or state of being without human occupants or human activity:
A broad, slanting patch of sunshine cut across the gloomy, lifeless emptiness of the church.
empty or barren space; void:
If we leave today we can reach the outpost by the 27th—through another 800 miles of flat, windy emptiness.
the fact or quality of being without force or effect; hollowness:
Continued support for brutal regimes reveals the hypocrisy and emptiness of the administration’s professed goal of spreading democracy.
the quality or feeling of being without significance or purpose; meaninglessness:
In the 21st century we are more likely to experience aimlessness and emptiness than guilt.
the fact or quality of being unoccupied by useful work or activity; idleness:
An active man, not yet sixty, he was unused to the emptiness of his days after he retired.
the fact or quality of being completely spent or drained emotionally by trauma:
Many women describe a feeling of numbness and emptiness following a miscarriage.

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��-�𳾱�·�پ�·�Ա�� noun

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of emptiness¹

empty ( def ) + -ness ( def )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Putting aside the emptiness of GOP committee members’ concern over youngsters being more harmed by anything on PBS than the vast frontier of the notoriously family-friendly Internet, the entire display was a sham.

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“I was suspended in emptiness, with nothing over my head or under my feet.… I knew I was dead and this wasn’t heaven.”

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As for that content, the magic — and emptiness — of branding is that it creates nothing from something.

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While I enjoy my time alone, a lingering sense of emptiness remains—a craving for connection rather than sinking into comfort and complacency.

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He sees in Orr “a combination of self-loathing and emptiness,” and “the two things that stave that off are the sacred secret that he has, and the notoriety of having the story out there.”

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