Vacant
['veɪk(ə)nt] or ['vekənt]
Definition
(adj.) without an occupant or incumbent; 'the throne is never vacant' .
(adj.) void of thought or knowledge; 'a vacant mind' .
Inputed by Giles--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Deprived of contents; not filled; empty; as, a vacant room.
(a.) Unengaged with business or care; unemployed; unoccupied; disengaged; free; as, vacant hours.
(a.) Not filled or occupied by an incumbent, possessor, or officer; as, a vacant throne; a vacant parish.
(a.) Empty of thought; thoughtless; not occupied with study or reflection; as, a vacant mind.
(a.) Abandoned; having no heir, possessor, claimant, or occupier; as, a vacant estate.
Edited by Jessica
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Empty, void, unfilled.[2]. Disengaged, not busied, unoccupied.[3]. Thoughtless, unthinking.
Typist: Sean
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Empty, leisure, unemployed, unencumbered, unoccupied, void, unfilled, mindless,exhausted
ANT:Full, replenished, business, employed, engaged, occupied, filled, thoughtful
Typist: Rowland
Definition
adj. empty: free: not occupied by an incumbent or possessor: not occupied with study &c.: thoughtless inane.—n. Vā′cancy emptiness: idleness: empty space void or gap between bodies: a situation unoccupied: (Shak.) unoccupied or leisure time.—adv. Vā′cantly.—v.t. Vacāte′ to leave empty: to quit possession of: (obs.) to annul to make useless.—ns. Vacā′tion a vacating or making void or invalid: freedom from duty &c.: recess: break in the sittings of law-courts: school and college holidays; Vacā′tionist one travelling for pleasure.—adj. Vacā′tionless.—n. Vacā′tur the act of annulling in law.
Checked by Bryant
Examples
- I sat down in the vacant chair--gently unclasped the poor, worn, restless fingers, and took both her hands in mine. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Sloppy had gradually expanded with his description into a stare and a vacant grin. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- There is no fruition in their vacant kindness, and sharp rocks lurk beneath the smiling ripples of these shallow waters. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- When the sounds ceased, the Grand Master glanced his eye slowly around the circle, and observed that the seat of one of the Preceptors was vacant. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Suddenly he was sobered: a vacant space appeared near Miss de Bassompierre; the circle surrounding her seemed about to dissolve. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- I steeled myself against the delusion; the room itself was vacant: it was only prudent, I repeated to myself, to examine the rest of the house. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Anything like a fixed, vacant expression? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- As to those vacant Pagets one is tired of seeing them, they are so proud and stupid. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Yeobright sat down in one of the vacant chairs, and remained in thought a long time. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- There he stood, his eyes still fastened on the flames in a changeless, vacant stare. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He raised his head,--the woman's place was vacant! Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- He stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- You touch me, sir,--you hold me, and fast enough: I am not cold like a corpse, nor vacant like air, am I? Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- It is vacant now, and I will rent it at once. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Two others remained there, and there was a vacant place for the third. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- And Mrs. Dorset leaned back against her travelling cushions with a smile which made Lily wish there had been no vacant seat beside her own. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- After remaining a week at Dijon, until thirty of our number deserted the vacant ranks of life, we continued our way towards Geneva. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- And when they had children the vacant corners in both their lives would be filled. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- He had not to wait and wish with vacant affections for an object worthy to succeed her in them. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- His eyes looked at me again with the painful expression of inquiry, so wistful, so vacant, so miserably helpless to see. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- She began waving her hand at me in a vacant, unmeaning manner. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- We found our old lodging vacant, and in half an hour were quietly established there, as if we had never gone away. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I'll fill the vacant peg then. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- When the higher natures are corrupted by politics, the lower take possession of the vacant place of philosophy. Plato. The Republic.
- He wants me to ascend the throne when vacant. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- There is in every village a vacant dwelling called the strangers' house. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- On the whole island there were but three miserable huts, and one of these was vacant when I arrived. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- The atmosphere presses with a force of 15 pounds upon every square inch of water in the large vessel, and forces some of it into the space left vacant by the retreating piston. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- His dim watery eyes were fixed on my face with an expression of vacant and wistful inquiry very painful to see. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
Checked by Bryant