Void
noun / adjective /vɔɪd/ — A completely empty space; an absence that feels total
Definition
A completely empty space — or the experience of absence so complete that it feels like space itself has been removed. The word for grief's particular quality of leaving a hole where someone was.
Beyond the definition
The emptiness shaped like a person. A void is not just absence — it is a specific absence, one that has edges defined by what was there before. You feel the shape of what is missing.
Origin & history
From Old French 'voide' (empty, space) — from Latin 'vocitus' (empty). Related to 'vacuum', 'vacuous', 'vacant'. Space emptied of what should fill it.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
After she left, he found a void where her presence had been — not sadness exactly, but negative space.
The void in the conversation where his name used to be was almost as loud as his voice had been.
Some experiences leave a void that everything afterward arranges itself around rather than fills.
How to use it
Follow this entry’s examples for grammatical form and sentence placement.
Choose “Void” when the meaning fits your context: A completely empty space — or the experience of absence so complete that it feels like space itself has been removed. The word for grief's particular quality of leaving a hole where someone was.
Synonyms
Antonyms
fullness, presence, abundance
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Vast Empty Room
An adult sits alone in a large, empty room with minimal furniture, emphasizing the sense of space and absence.
The vast, empty room embodies the concept of a void, capturing the unsettling quality of total absence where someone or something previously existed.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Void" mean?
Void is noun / adjective meaning: A completely empty space; an absence that feels total. A completely empty space — or the experience of absence so complete that it feels like space itself has been removed. The word for grief's particular quality of leaving a hole where someone was.
Where does the word "Void" come from?
From Old French 'voide' (empty, space) — from Latin 'vocitus' (empty). Related to 'vacuum', 'vacuous', 'vacant'. Space emptied of what should fill it.