Adjacent Words

Empty definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EMP'TY, a.
1. Containing nothing, or nothing but air; as an empty chest; empty space; an empty purse is a serious evil.
2. Evacuated; not filled; as empty shackles.
3. Unfurnished; as an empty room.
4. Void; devoid.
In civility thou seemest so empty.
5. Void; destitute of solid matter; as empty air.
6. Destitute of force or effect; as empty words.
7. Unsubstantial; unsatisfactory; not able to fill the mind or the desires. The pleasures of life are empty and unsatisfying.
Pleased with empty praise.
8. Not supplied; having nothing to carry.
They beat him, and sent him away empty. Mark 12.
9. Hungry.
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty.
10. Unfurnished with intellect or knowledge; vacant of head; ignorant; as an empty coxcomb.
11. Unfruitful; producing nothing.
Israel is an empty vine. Hosca 10.
Seven empty ears blasted with the east wind. Genesis 41.
12. Wanting substance; wanting solidity; as empty dreams.
13. Destitute; waste;desolate.
Nineveh is empty. Nahum 2.
14. Without effect.
The sword of Saul returned not empty. 1 Samuel 1.
15. Without a cargo; in ballast; as, the ship returned empty.
EMP'TY, v.t. To exhaust; to make void or destitute; to deprive of the contents; as, to empty a vessel; to empty a well or a cistern.
1. To pour out the contents.
The clouds empty themselves on the earth. Ecclesiastes 11.
Rivers empty themselves into the ocean.
2. To waste; to make desolate. Jeremiah 51.
EMP'TY, v.i. To pour out or discharge its contents.
The Connecticut empties into the Sound.
1. To become empty.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: holding or containing nothing; "an empty glass"; "an empty room"; "full of empty seats"; "empty hours" [ant: full]
2: devoid of significance or point; "empty promises"; "a hollow victory"; "vacuous comments" [syn: empty, hollow, vacuous]
3: needing nourishment; "after skipped lunch the men were empty by suppertime"; "empty-bellied children" [syn: empty, empty-bellied]
4: emptied of emotion; "after the violent argument he felt empty" n
1: a container that has been emptied; "return all empties to the store" v
1: make void or empty of contents; "Empty the box"; "The alarm emptied the building" [ant: fill, fill up, make full]
2: become empty or void of its content; "The room emptied" [syn: empty, discharge] [ant: fill, fill up]
3: leave behind empty; move out of; "You must vacate your office by tonight" [syn: vacate, empty, abandon]
4: remove; "Empty the water"
5: excrete or discharge from the body [syn: evacuate, void, empty]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (emptier; -est) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ?mettig unoccupied, from ?metta leisure, perhaps from ?- without + -metta (probably akin to m?tan to have to) — more at must Date: before 12th century 1. a. containing nothing <empty shelves> b. not occupied or inhabited <an empty building> c. unfrequented d. not pregnant <empty heifer> e. null 4a <the empty set> 2. a. lacking reality, substance, meaning, or value ; hollow <an empty pleasure> b. destitute of effect or force <an empty threat> c. devoid of sense ; foolish 3. hungry 4. a. idle <empty hours> b. having no purpose or result ; useless 5. marked by the absence of human life, activity, or comfort <an empty silence> • emptily adverb • emptiness noun Synonyms: empty, vacant, blank, void, vacuous mean lacking contents which could or should be present. empty suggests a complete absence of contents <an empty bucket>. vacant suggests an absence of appropriate contents or occupants <a vacant apartment>. blank stresses the absence of any significant, relieving, or intelligible features on a surface <a blank wall>. void suggests absolute emptiness as far as the mind or senses can determine <a statement void of meaning>. vacuous suggests the emptiness of a vacuum and especially the lack of intelligence or significance <a vacuous facial expression>. Synonym: see in addition vain. II. verb (emptied; emptying) Date: 1548 transitive verb 1. a. to make empty ; remove the contents of <empty a purse> b. deprive, divest <a phrase emptied of all meaning> c. to discharge (itself) of contents d. to fire (a repeating firearm) until empty 2. to remove from what holds or encloses <empty the grain from sacks> intransitive verb 1. to become empty <the theater emptied quickly> 2. to discharge contents <the river empties into the ocean> III. noun (plural empties) Date: 1865 something (as a bottle or can) that is empty

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., v., & n. --adj. (emptier, emptiest) 1 containing nothing. 2 (of a house etc.) unoccupied or unfurnished. 3 (of a transport vehicle etc.) without a load, passengers, etc. 4 a meaningless, hollow, insincere (empty threats; an empty gesture). b without substance or purpose (an empty existence). 5 colloq. hungry. 6 (foll. by of) devoid, lacking. --v. (-ies, -ied) 1 tr. a make empty; remove the contents of. b (foll. by of) deprive of certain contents (emptied the room of its chairs). 2 tr. (often foll. by into) transfer (the contents of a container). 3 intr. become empty. 4 intr. (usu. foll. by into) (of a river) discharge itself (into the sea etc.). --n. (pl. -ies) colloq. a container (esp. a bottle) left empty of its contents. Phrases and idioms: empty-handed 1 bringing or taking nothing. 2 having achieved or obtained nothing. empty-headed foolish; lacking common sense. empty-nester US either of a couple whose children have grown up and left home. on an empty stomach see STOMACH. Derivatives: emptily adv. emptiness n. Etymology: OE æmtig, æmetig f. æmetta leisure

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Empty 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Empty Emp"ty, v. i. 1. To discharge itself; as, a river empties into the ocean. 2. To become empty. ``The chapel empties.'' --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Empty Emp"ty, n.; pl. Empties. An empty box, crate, cask, etc.; -- used in commerce, esp. in transportation of freight; as, ``special rates for empties.''

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Empty Emp"ty, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emptied; p. pr. & vb. n. Emptying.] To deprive of the contents; to exhaust; to make void or destitute; to make vacant; to pour out; to discharge; as, to empty a vessel; to empty a well or a cistern. The clouds . . . empty themselves upon the earth. --Eccl. xi. 3.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(emptier, emptiest, empties, emptying, emptied) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. An empty place, vehicle, or container is one that has no people or things in it. The room was bare and empty. ...empty cans of lager... The roads were nearly empty of traffic. ADJ: oft ADJ of n 2. An empty gesture, threat, or relationship has no real value or meaning. His father threatened to throw him out, but he knew it was an empty threat. ...to ensure the event is not perceived as an empty gesture. ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. If you describe a person's life or a period of time as empty, you mean that nothing interesting or valuable happens in it. My life was very hectic but empty before I met him. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 4. If you feel empty, you feel unhappy and have no energy, usually because you are very tired or have just experienced something upsetting. I feel so empty, my life just doesn't seem worth living any more. ADJ: usu feel ADJ, also ADJ n 5. If you empty a container, or empty something out of it, you remove its contents, especially by tipping it up. I emptied the ashtray... Empty the noodles and liquid into a serving bowl... He emptied the contents out into the palm of his hand. VERB: V n, V n prep, V n with out 6. If someone empties a room or place, or if it empties, everyone that is in it goes away. The stadium emptied at the end of the first day of athletics. ...a woman who could empty a pub full of drunks just by lifting one fist. VERB: V, V n 7. A river or canal that empties into a lake, river, or sea flows into it. The Washougal empties into the Columbia River near Portland. VERB: V into n 8. Empties are bottles or containers which no longer have anything in them. N-COUNT: usu pl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Without contents, destitute of contents, devoid of contents. 2. Void, vacant, unoccupied. 3. [With of.] Devoid, destitute. 4. Unfurnished, unsupplied, unfilled, destitute. 5. Unsubstantial, unsatisfying, unsatisfactory, vain, hollow. 6. Desolate, waste, deserted. 7. Senseless, silly, weak, frivolous. II. v. a. 1. Exhaust, drain, evacuate, deplete. 2. Discharge, disembogue, pour out. III. v. n. Flow, disembogue, embogue, discharge, fall, flow out, be discharged.

Moby Thesaurus

abandoned, absurd, aimless, airy, apparently sound, arid, asinine, awkward, banal, bare, barren, baseless, blah, bland, blank, blankminded, bleached, bleed, bloodless, blow, blow out, bootless, broach, callow, calm, cast out, casuistic, catchpenny, characterless, cheap, clean, clean out, clear, clear away, clear off, clear out, clear the decks, cold, colorable, colorless, counterproductive, dead, deadpan, decant, deceptive, defecate, deplete, depleted, deserted, designless, desolate, destitute, destitute of, devoid, devoid of, discharge, dishonest, disingenuous, dismal, dog-hungry, draft, draft off, draggy, drain, drain out, drained, draw, draw from, draw off, drearisome, dreary, dry, dryasdust, dull, dumb, dump, dusty, effete, eject, elephantine, eliminate, emptied, empty of, empty out, empty-headed, empty-minded, empty-pated, empty-skulled, etiolated, evacuate, exhaust, exhausted, expressionless, fade, fallacious, famished, famishing, fasting, fatuitous, fatuous, featureless, feckless, find vent, fishy, flat, flimsy, flow, flow out, foolish, forsaken, fribble, fribbling, frivolous, frothy, fruitless, futile, garbled, gauche, glassy, godforsaken, green, groping, groundless, gush, gush out, half-famished, half-starved, heavy, ho-hum, hollow, hungering, hungry, hypocritical, idle, ignorant, ill-founded, illusive, impassive, importless, in want of, inadequate, inane, incogitant, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, inexcitable, inexcusable, inexperienced, inexpressive, innocent, inoperative, insignificant, insincere, insipid, insubstantial, invalid, jejune, jesuitic, jet, know-nothing, leaden, let, let blood, let out, lifeless, light, low-spirited, mealymouthed, meaningless, milk, naive, nescient, new, nirvanic, nonconnotative, nondenotative, nugacious, nugatory, null, null and void, oblivious, of no force, otiose, outflow, outpour, overrefined, oversubtle, pale, pallid, paltry, passive, peckish, pedestrian, petty, phatic, philosophistic, phlebotomize, pinched with hunger, pipette, plausible, plodding, pointless, poker-faced, poky, ponderous, pour, pour out, pump, pump out, purge, purportless, purposeless, put out, quietistic, rattlebrained, rattleheaded, ravening, ravenous, raw, relaxed, remove, run out, sans, scatterbrained, scour out, scrambled, senseless, shallow, sharp-set, silly, simple, siphon off, slender, slight, slow, sluice out, solemn, sophistic, sophistical, specious, spent, spew out, spiritless, spout, spout out, spurt, stark, starved, starving, sterile, stiff, stodgy, strange to, stuffy, stupid, suck, suck out, superficial, superfluous, supernumerary, surge, surplus, sweep out, take away, take out, tap, tasteless, tedious, tentative, thoughtfree, thoughtless, throw out, tongue in cheek, tranquil, trifling, trite, trivial, unacquainted, unadorned, unapprized, unavailing, unbased, uncandid, unclog, uncomprehending, unconversant, undecorated, unenlightened, unexpressive, unfamiliar, unfilled, unfoul, unfounded, unfrank, ungrounded, unideaed, unilluminated, uninformed, uninhabitable, uninhabited, uninitiated, unintellectual, unintelligent, unknowing, unlively, unload, unmeaning, unoccupied, unposted, unreasoning, unrelieved, unripe, unsatisfying, unserious, unsignificant, unsupportable, unsupported, unsure, unsustainable, unsustained, untenable, untenanted, unthinking, unused, unversed, unwarranted, useless, vacant, vacate, vacuous, vain, valueless, vapid, venesect, vent, void, vomit forth, voracious, wanting, waste, well, well out, white, wild, windy, with nothing inside, without, without basis, without content, without foundation, wolfish, wooden, worthless