Make Your Point > Archived Issues > VACUOUS
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connect this word to others:
Whether in earnest or in a feint to amuse us, Paris Hilton made these vacuous comments:
"I don't really think, I just walk."
"What's a soup kitchen?"
"What's Walmart, do they sell like wall stuff?"
"I get half a million just to show up at parties. My life is, like, really, really fun."
Vacuity isn't just for heiresses. I won't name names, but let's just say that if you sign up for a Habitat for Humanity project, review your list of supplies to bring, and declare in all seriousness, "I need to buy work gloves, whatever those are," you risk sounding vacuous: air-headed, empty-minded, devoid of intelligent thought.
I bet you can name some cousins of vacuous: some words that also derive from the Latin word for "empty," like vacate, vacant, vacuum, and evacuate.
The word vacuous has a synonym that almost rhymes: _a_uous, meaning "silly or stupid in an empty, thoughtless way." Can you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"VACUOUS"
This word comes from the Latin one for "empty." Vacuous things and people are mentally or intellectually empty.
In other words, they're empty (or practically empty) of any thoughts, ideas, or intelligence.
Pronunciation:
VACK you us
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a vacuous remark," "the whole campaign was vacuous."
Other forms:
vacuously, vacuousness (or "vacuity," said "vack YOU uh tee")
How to use it:
"Vacuous" takes "air-headed" to the next level. When someone's mind seems so empty that it doesn't even seem to hold air--it's like the vacuum of outer space up in there--call that person vacuous. Just keep in mind that it's an insulting word.
So, when you find it appropriate, talk about vacuous people, facial expressions, comments, clichés, responses, questions, excuses, assurances, speeches, rhetoric, campaigns, conversations, dialogue, shows, books, music, lyrics, etc.
Even someone's (or something's) entire life or existence could be called vacuous.
examples:
Winking at the vacuous language of sports interviews--"we gave it 110%," "it was a real challenge for us," "gotta take it one game at a time"--this VectorBelly comic begins, "You were sportsing pretty hard out there. A lot of sports happened. Why do you think you lost?"
"'Bright Star' would be completely winning if we could unplug that part of our brain responsible for critical sentience. But the vacuous smile this throwback musical leaves with you is hardly a crime."
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 October 2017
has this page helped you understand "vacuous"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "vacuous" without saying "stupid in an empty way" or "devoid of anything interesting or valuable."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Under or behind) the (noise, chatter, or clutter) of _____ is a disturbing vacuity, a sharp lack of any _____."
Example: "Under the online course's clutter of links, lists, videos, quizzes, assignments, and discussion boards is a disturbing vacuity, a sharp lack of any theme or purpose."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
George Walter Thornbury (1828-1876) said,
"Man's _____ is but a jest,
A dream, a shadow, bubble, air, a vapor at the best."
Answer: Life.
Try this one today:
Theodore Tilton (1835-1907) said,
"What is _____?
_____ is but a slow decay—
Even this shall pass away."
review this word:
1. One opposite of VACUOUS is
A. SHAPELY.
B. SUBSTANTIAL.
C. SERVICEABLE.
2. She wrote the song to satirize herself, or rather, the vacuous version of herself created by the media. That explains the title, "_____."
A. Red
B. Blank Space
C. Teardrops on My Guitar
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Whether in earnest or in a feint to amuse us, Paris Hilton made these vacuous comments:
"VACUOUS" This word comes from the Latin one for "empty." Vacuous things and people are mentally or intellectually empty.
Winking at the vacuous language of sports interviews--"we gave it 110%," "it was a real challenge for us," "gotta take it one game at a time"--this VectorBelly comic begins, "You were sportsing pretty hard out there. A lot of sports happened. Why do you think you lost?"
Explain the meaning of "vacuous" without saying "stupid in an empty way" or "devoid of anything interesting or valuable."
Fill in the blanks: "(Under or behind) the (noise, chatter, or clutter) of _____ is a disturbing vacuity, a sharp lack of any _____."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of VACUOUS is
|