EMPTY Synonyms: 314 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'empty' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of empty are blank , vacant , vacuous , and void . While all these words mean "lacking contents which could or should be present," empty suggests a complete absence of contents. // an empty bucket

Q: When might 'blank' be a better fit than 'empty'?

While in some cases nearly identical to empty , blank stresses the absence of any significant, relieving, or intelligible features on a surface. // a blank wall

Q: When could 'vacant' be used to replace 'empty'?

The words vacant and empty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vacant suggests an absence of appropriate contents or occupants. // a vacant apartment

Q: When is 'vacuous' a more appropriate choice than 'empty'?

Although the words vacuous and empty have much in common, vacuous suggests the emptiness of a vacuum and especially the lack of intelligence or significance. // a vacuous facial expression

Q: When would 'void' be a good substitute for 'empty'?

The meanings of void and empty largely overlap; however, void suggests absolute emptiness as far as the mind or senses can determine. // a statement void of meaning

empty 1 of 2

adjective

ˈem(p)-tē

Definition of empty

as in devoid

lacking contents that could or should be present the refrigerator is empty, so we'll have to eat out

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in meaningless

having no meaning spare me your empty apologies because if you were truly sorry, you'd change

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in worthless

having no usefulness an empty task that was assigned just to keep us busy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in unsuccessful

producing no results all of the leads in the missing-person case were turning up empty

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in blank

not expressing any emotion the speaker looked out at a crowd of empty faces

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

empty

2 of 2

verb

as in to evacuate

to remove the contents of empty the room before starting to paint the ceiling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fill
load

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective empty contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of empty are blank, vacant, vacuous, and void. While all these words mean "lacking contents which could or should be present," empty suggests a complete absence of contents.

an empty bucket

When might blank be a better fit than empty?

While in some cases nearly identical to empty, blank stresses the absence of any significant, relieving, or intelligible features on a surface.

a blank wall

When could vacant be used to replace empty?

The words vacant and empty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vacant suggests an absence of appropriate contents or occupants.

a vacant apartment

When is vacuous a more appropriate choice than empty?

Although the words vacuous and empty have much in common, vacuous suggests the emptiness of a vacuum and especially the lack of intelligence or significance.

a vacuous facial expression

When would void be a good substitute for empty?

The meanings of void and empty largely overlap; however, void suggests absolute emptiness as far as the mind or senses can determine.

a statement void of meaning

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of empty

Adjective

Skubal debuted in 2020, in an empty ballpark on the South Side of Chicago. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026 This time, Jones made the Cubs’ David Peterson the victim of an opposite field, bases-empty blast that cut through the twisting Chicago air at 106 mph. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2026

Verb

And be sure to empty and refresh water trays regularly to avoid creating mosquito habitat, advises Potter. — Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 July 2026 More recently, gang violence has emptied out entire neighborhoods as more Haitians have fled both within the country and abroad to Canada and the United States. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for empty

Recent Examples of Synonyms for empty

Adjective

In a show mostly devoid of explicit messages, the sentiment surprised me.

— Max Norman, New Yorker, 25 June 2026
Players take on the role of a Ditto capable of mimicking its human trainer, and the Pokémon is thrown into a world devoid of humans.

— Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 25 June 2026

Definition of devoid

Adjective

Nolan sets the tone by opening with a bard (Travis Scott) beginning to tell the tale of the fall of Troy—at least the idealized heroic version that the bard’s audiences are hungry to hear.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026
Martin, who says she has been intrigued by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, says so many voters are just struggling to get by and are hungry for sweeping change.

— Sam Gringlas, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of hungry

Adjective

But that pledge does little to address the creation of deepfakes themselves, and is meaningless without digital tools that make detecting deepfakes possible.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2026
The show also underscores the frustration of meaningless tasks, mirroring widespread disengagement when work lacks clear purpose.

— Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of meaningless

Adjective

Second, the hacker had ignored valuable data on Hugging Face’s servers in search of worthless answers to a test.

— Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
On top of that, his degree from a for-profit college - which was later sued over alleged deception - seemed worthless.

— Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 30 July 2026

Definition of worthless

Adjective

The training will include blank ammunition and training rounds, along with a significant presence of emergency vehicles and loud noises, police said.

— Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026
Spencer Steer has been the blank tile for Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona’s lineup card.

— C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 28 July 2026

Definition of blank

Verb

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Firefighters evacuated 254 people by sea Friday and 12 more Saturday — often the last escape route when fire and smoke cut the few roads from coastal communities.

— Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of evacuate

Adjective

John Mozeliak just had the best day by an Angels front-office member in about a decade, replenishing a barren farm system with nine prospects after a handful of trades.

— Levi Weaver, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Sprawling acres of largely barren farmland, still owned by the sugarcane plantations that dominated the islands’ economy for a century, line the side of the highway here, gently sloping toward the craggy green cliffs of the Waimea Canyon.

— Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of barren

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“Empty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empty. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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verb

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Synonyms of empty

adjective

verb

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Phrases Containing empty

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Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on empty

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

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