vacuous
/ˈvakjʊəs
/adjective
1Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless: a vacuous smile vacuous slogans...
- Choices based on the most minute reasoning but lacking any desire are vacuous.
- You'll see their vacuous smiles, but their sad eyes will betray how hollow and unhappy they really are.
- In short, what we have here is a veritable orgy of vacuous generalities and meaningless slogans.
Synonyms
blank, vacant, expressionless, deadpan, inscrutable, inexpressive, poker-faced, emotionless, impassive, absent, absent-minded, uninterested, empty, glassy, stony, wooden, motionless, lifeless, inanimate
empty-headed, unintelligent, without thought, brainless, dense, dull-witted, thick, vacant, inane, stupid
informal brain-dead
2 archaic Empty.A vacuous, empty space is present in almost all locations throughout the film and successfully captures the enormous lack of love Barry feels....
- On the second floor, I stepped into a vacuous, empty office space.
- There was less than a minute of silence, and then two police cruisers tore down the vacuous street with their sirens on and stopped in front of the restaurant.
Derivatives
vacuously
/ adverb ...- It provides us no cover to assert vacuously that we are doing what the Supreme Court commands.
- She was intelligent and coherent and not the least bit cosy or vacuously spiritual.
- Your statement is probably vacuously true.
vacuousness
/ noun ...- But I don't think I can set aside my prejudices about the vacuousness of life in suburban sprawl.
- I have been conducting an experiment aimed at analysing the intensifying silliness, stupidity and vacuousness of the world.
- But on a much larger level, it just shows once again the utter vacuousness of our electoral system.
Origin
Mid 17th century (in the sense 'empty of matter'): from Latin vacuus 'empty' + -ous.