1
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
the refrigerator is empty, so we'll have to eat out
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hungry
feeling a desire or need for food
as the long car trip wore on, we all started to feel a little empty
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3
as in meaningless
having no meaning
spare me your empty apologies because if you were truly sorry, you'd change
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4
as in worthless
having no usefulness
an empty task that was assigned just to keep us busy
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5
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
all of the leads in the missing-person case were turning up empty
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6
as in blank
not expressing any emotion
the speaker looked out at a crowd of empty faces
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of empty
Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
But with Gustavsson on the bench for an extra attacker, Adrian Kempe’s empty net goal sealed the result.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 6 Jan. 2026
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
Amid reports of price gouging, some shelves across the country have started to empty.
—Michael Rios, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for empty
Adjective
Many have complained about shelves being empty in stores, likely as suppliers and merchants fear selling cooking oil at a loss.
—Verb
Its first season’s defining set piece plunged the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center’s emergency department into the aftermath of a mass shooting, an act of narrative escalation that felt like the writers’ room emptying its reserves.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for empty
Adjective
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Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
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That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Adjective
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So last Monday, after scrolling through news of the government shutdown and with nothing else planned for the day, the couple decided to fire up their Pit Boss pellet grill and feed anyone who was hungry, no questions asked.—
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Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.—
Adjective
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Diplomacy is preferable, but diplomacy without credibility is meaningless.—
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Sadly, these beliefs become meaningless when college turns into a test of how much a person can endure instead of a career path.—
Adjective
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The gain from a call option would exceed the return on the stock alone, but involves greater risk than simply buying the stock because the contracts can expire worthless.—
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When Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear weapons on its soil in the mid-1990s, Russia provided a security guarantee that proved worthless.—
Adjective
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But her appeal was unsuccessful.—
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Industry lobbying unsuccessful to date Some advocates for the restaurant industry have been lobbying to change the way service fees are treated.—
Adjective
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The 166-piece set includes 36 dot, bam, and crack tiles, 12 dragons, 16 winds, 16 flowers, 10 jokers, and four blank spare tiles made from melamine.—
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The system adapts to tone and intent without forcing app switching or blank-page starts.—
Verb
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If told to evacuate, do so immediately.—
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As the violent storm threatens the country’s northeastern coast, millions of people have evacuated from villages at risk of flash floods, landslides, and tidal surges.—
Adjective
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In the 19th century, guano miners razed the place, removing most of the topsoil and leaving behind barren rock.—
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The next two teams on this list find themselves in eerily similar situations, from barren rosters to enviable cap space to hope at the quarterback position.—
Cite this Entry
“Empty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empty. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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