—Synonyms 1. vacuous. Empty,vacant,blank,void denote absence of content or contents. Empty means without appropriate or accustomed contents: an empty refrigerator. Vacant is usually applied to that which is temporarily unoccupied: a vacant chair; three vacant apartments. Blank applies to surfaces free from any marks or lacking appropriate markings, openings, etc.: blank paper; a blank wall. Void emphasizes completely unfilled space with vague, unspecified, or no boundaries: void and without form. 6. delusive, vain. 12. unload, unburden.
Mathematics Having no elements or members; null: an empty set.
Having no occupants or inhabitants; vacant: an empty chair; empty desert.
Lacking force or power: an empty threat.
Lacking purpose or substance; meaningless: an empty life.
Not put to use; idle: empty hours.
Needing nourishment; hungry: "More fierce and more inexorable far/Than empty tigers or the roaring sea"(Shakespeare).
Devoid; destitute: empty of pity.
v.
emp·tied, emp·ty·ing, emp·ties
v.
tr.
To remove the contents of: emptied the dishwasher.
To transfer or pour off completely: empty the ashes into a pail.
To unburden; relieve: empty oneself of doubt.
v.
intr.
To become empty: The theater emptied after the performance.
To discharge its contents: The river empties into a bay.
n.
pl.emp·tiesInformal
An empty container.
[Middle English, from Old English ǣmtig, vacant, unoccupied, from ǣmetta, leisure; see med- in Indo-European roots.]
emp'ti·ly adv., emp'ti·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean without contents that could or should be present. Empty applies to what is wholly lacking contents or substance: an empty room; empty promises. Vacant refers to what is without an occupant or incumbent, or to what is without intelligence or thought: a vacant auditorium; a vacant stare. Blank stresses the absence of something, especially on a surface, that would convey meaning or content: blank pages. Void applies to what is free from or completely destitute of discernible content: gibberish void of all meaning. Vacuous describes what is as devoid of substance as a vacuum is: led a vacuous life.
Something that is bare lacks surface covering (a bare head) or detail (the bare facts); the word also denotes the condition of being stripped of contents or furnishings: a bare closet. Barren literally and figuratively stresses lack of productivity: barren land; writing barren of insight. See Also Synonyms at vain.
Word History: In Old English Ic eom ǣmtig could mean "I am empty," "I am unoccupied," or "I am unmarried." The sense "unoccupied, at leisure," which did not survive Old English, points to the derivation of ǣmtig from the Old English word ǣmetta, "leisure, rest." The word ǣmetta may in turn go back to the Germanic root *mōt-, meaning "ability, leisure." In any case, Old English ǣmtig also meant "vacant," a sense that was destined to take over the meaning of the word. Empty, the Modern English descendant of Old English ǣmtig, has come to have the sense "idle," so that one can speak of empty leisure.
O.E. æmettig "at leisure, not occupied, unmarried," from æmetta "leisure," from æ "not" + -metta, from motan "to have" (see might). The -p- is a euphonic insertion. Sense evolution from "at leisure" to "empty" is paralleled in several languages, cf. Mod.Gk. adeios "empty," originally "freedom from fear," from deios "fear." "The adj. adeios must have been applied first to persons who enjoyed freedom from duties, leisure, and so were unoccupied, whence it was extended to objects that were unoccupied" [Buck]. The adj. also became the v. in 16c., replacing M.E. empten, from O.E. geæmtigian. Figurative sense of empty-nester first attested 1987. Empty-handed attested from 1613.
Emp"ti*ness\, n. [From Empty.]1. The state of being empty; absence of contents; void space; vacuum; as, the emptiness of a vessel; emptiness of the stomach. 2. Want of solidity or substance; unsatisfactoriness; inability to satisfy desire; vacuity; hollowness; the emptiness of earthly glory. 3. Want of knowledge; lack of sense; vacuity of mind. Eternal smiles his emptiness betray. --Pope. The sins of emptiness, gossip, and spite. --Tennyson.
Emp"ty\ (?; 215), a. [Compar. Emptier; superl. Emptiest.] [AS. emtig, [ae]mtig, [ae]metig, fr. [ae]mta, [ae]metta, quiet, leisure, rest; of uncertain origin; cf. G. emsig busy.]1. Containing nothing; not holding or having anything within; void of contents or appropriate contents; not filled; -- said of an inclosure, as a box, room, house, etc.; as, an empty chest, room, purse, or pitcher; an empty stomach; empty shackles. 2. Free; clear; devoid; -- often with of. "That fair female troop . . . empty of all good." --Milton. I shall find you empty of that fault. --Shak. 3. Having nothing to carry; unburdened. "An empty messenger." --Shak. When ye go ye shall not go empty. --Ex. iii. 21. 4. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; -- said of language; as, empty words, or threats. Words are but empty thanks. --Cibber. 5. Unable to satisfy; unsatisfactory; hollow; vain; -- said of pleasure, the world, etc. Pleas'd in the silent shade with empty praise. --Pope. 6. Producing nothing; unfruitful; -- said of a plant or tree; as, an empty vine. Seven empty ears blasted with the east wind. --Gen. xli. 27. 7. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy; as, empty brains; an empty coxcomb. That in civility thou seem'st so empty. --Shak. 8. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial; as, empty dreams. Note: Empty is used as the first element in a compound; as, empty-handed, having nothing in the hands, destitute; empty-headed, having few ideas; empty-hearted, destitute of feeling. Syn: See Vacant.
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Audio Help [emp-tee] Pronunciation Key adjective, -ti·er, -ti·est, verb, -tied, -ty·ing, noun, plural -ties. 
