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empty
[ emp-tee ]
adjective
- containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents:
an empty bottle.
Antonyms: full
- having no occupant or occupants; vacant; unoccupied:
an empty house.
- without cargo or load:
an empty wagon.
- destitute of people or human activity:
We walked along the empty streets of the city at night.
- destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid (usually followed by of ):
Theirs is a life now empty of happiness.
- without force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless:
empty compliments;
empty pleasures.
Synonyms: vain, useless, pointless, ineffectual, ineffective, futile, bootless, barren
- not employed in useful activity or work; idle:
empty summer days.
I'm feeling rather empty—let's have lunch.
an empty head.
- completely spent of emotion:
The experience had left him with an empty heart.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
- to become empty:
The room emptied rapidly after the lecture.
- to discharge contents, as a river:
The river empties into the sea.
noun
- Informal. something that is empty, as a box, bottle, or can:
Throw the empties into the waste bin.
empty
/ ˈɛmptɪ /
adjective
- containing nothing
- without inhabitants; vacant or unoccupied
- carrying no load, passengers, etc
- without purpose, substance, or value
an empty life
- insincere or trivial
empty words
- not expressive or vital; vacant
she has an empty look
- informal.hungry
- postpositivefoll byof devoid; destitute
a life empty of happiness
- informal.drained of energy or emotion
after the violent argument he felt very empty
- maths logic (of a set or class) containing no members
- philosophy logic (of a name or description) having no reference
verb
- to make or become empty
- whenintr, foll by into to discharge (contents)
- troften foll byof to unburden or rid (oneself)
to empty oneself of emotion
noun
- an empty container, esp a bottle
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Derived Forms
- ˈemptiable, adjective
- ˈemptier, noun
- ˈemptiness, noun
- ˈemptily, adverb
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Other Words From
- emp·ti·a·ble adjective
- emp·ti·er noun
- emp·ti·ly adverb
- emp·ti·ness noun
- o·ver·emp·ty adjective
- qua·si-emp·ty adjective
- self-emp·ty·ing adjective
- un·emp·tied adjective
- un·emp·ty adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of empty1
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Idioms and Phrases
- glass is half full (half empty)
- running on empty
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
He defied the atheism of communism and the empty religious practices of Putinism.
Otherwise, we will be but celebrating an empty holiday, missing its true meaning altogether.
Later schools empty out children, who race over to play games in the shade.
On Thursday, Russian bloggers published pictures of empty shelves in stores that once sold electric goods.
If they are in fact linked to North Korea, the threat may not be as empty as people think.
Herein he found an empty stall that was dark enough not to be seen, and still afforded sufficient light to read in.
When the funeral was over, and they returned to their desolate home, at the sight of the empty cradle Ramona broke down.
A quite young child will, for example, pretend to do something, as to take an empty cup and carry out the semblance of drinking.
For his heart seemed alternately full and empty; all the life he had was centred there.
In Flanders, he says, they would never attack with empty limbers behind them; they would wait till they were full up.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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