Definition

Noun: 1. The quality of being insincere, deceitful, or lacking in truth: Refers to a lack of genuine substance, honesty, or meaningful content in words, emotions, or character. 2. The property of having a concave or sunken area: Refers to the physical state of being curved inward or having a depression. 3. The state of being hollow; having an empty space within: Refers to the physical condition of having a void or cavity inside an object.

Usage Examples

• Referring to insincerity or lack of substance:
  • The hollowness of his apology was obvious to everyone.
  • She felt a deep sense of hollowness after achieving her goal, realizing it didn't bring her happiness.
  • The speech was full of platitudes and political hollowness.
• Referring to a sunken physical area:
  • The hollowness of his cheeks was a sign of his illness.
  • The sculptor emphasized the hollowness of the figure's eyes to convey despair.
• Referring to an internal empty space:
  • The hollowness of the tree trunk provided a home for small animals.
  • They tapped the wall to check for hollowness, indicating a hidden space behind it.

Advanced Usage

• Emotional/Existential Hollowness: Often used metaphorically to describe a profound feeling of emptiness, meaninglessness, or lack of fulfillment in one's life or emotions.
  • Despite his success, a persistent hollowness lingered within him.
• Rhetorical Hollowness: Used to critique language, promises, or arguments that sound impressive but lack real value, truth, or intention.
  • The debate revealed the hollowness of the candidates' slogans.

Variants and Related Words

• Hollow (adjective): Having a hole or empty space inside; sunken; (figuratively) meaningless or insincere.
  • a hollow tree; hollow cheeks; hollow promises
• Hollow (verb): To make something hollow.
  • They hollowed out the pumpkin.
• Hollowly (adverb): In a hollow or insincere manner.
  • He laughed hollowly.

Synonyms

• For insincerity/lack of substance: Insincerity, emptiness, meaninglessness, futility, hypocrisy, deceitfulness, falsity.
• For a sunken area: Concavity, depression, indentation, cavity.
• For an empty space: Void, emptiness, cavity, vacancy.

Antonyms

• For insincerity/lack of substance: Sincerity, genuineness, substance, truthfulness, depth.
• For a sunken area: Convexity, protrusion, bulge.
• For an empty space: Solidity, fullness.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• Ring hollow: To sound false or insincere.
  • His excuses rang hollow after he was seen at the party.
• Feel hollow: To feel empty or emotionally numb inside.
  • Winning the award felt hollow without her family there to share it.

Noun

1. the quality of not being open or truthful; deceitful or hypocritical
2. the property of having a sunken area
3. the state of being hollow: having an empty space within