hollowness
/ˈhɒləʊnəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhɑːləʊnəs/ (ame, ipa)
hollowness — noun
1. the quality that words, promises, or feelings have when they sound impressive bu
the quality that words, promises, or feelings have when they sound impressive but carry no real meaning, honesty, or value behind them.
After the scandal, voters quickly saw the hollowness of the mayor's promises.
pattern: the hollowness of [noun]
Anong felt the hollowness of her boss's praise once she learned about the layoffs.
common collocation: hollowness of someone's praise/words
The film exposes the hollowness of celebrity culture through five sad portraits.
There is a real hollowness to the apology, since nothing about his behaviour has changed.
Renata's poem captures the hollowness of slogans repeated without belief.
- emptiness
broader; emptiness can be emotional or physical, while hollowness of words stresses insincerity.
- insincerity
more direct accusation; hollowness suggests something sounded grand but proved meaningless.
- meaninglessness
stresses lack of substance; hollowness adds a sense of being deliberately misleading.
文法句型
the hollowness of [noun]
用法筆記
Subject is usually an abstract noun (promise, words, victory, apology, smile, gesture). Distinguish from sense 2 (a literal empty inside) — sense 1 is always figurative and judgemental.
常見錯誤
2. the physical quality of an object that has an empty space inside instead of bein
the physical quality of an object that has an empty space inside instead of being solid all the way through, such as a tube, drum, or bone.
You can tell the hollowness of the bamboo by gently knocking on its side.
pattern: tell the hollowness of [object] by [action]
The hollowness of the old church bell gives it a deep, ringing sound.
physics/acoustics context
Bird bones have a surprising hollowness that helps them fly long distances.
Mizuki noticed the hollowness of the wooden statue when she lifted it with one hand.
The hollowness inside the iron pipe lets water flow through it easily.
文法句型
the hollowness of [object]
用法筆記
Object is usually a manufactured item or natural structure (pipe, bone, shell, drum, tree trunk). Distinguish from sense 1 (figurative): this sense always refers to a literal empty interior in a physical object.
常見錯誤
3. the look of cheeks that curve inward or eyes that sit deep in their sockets, usu
the look of cheeks that curve inward or eyes that sit deep in their sockets, usually because a person is very tired, ill, hungry, or old.
Gabriel noticed the hollowness in his grandmother's cheeks after her long illness.
pattern: hollowness in [body part]
The photographs showed the hollowness of the prisoners' faces after weeks without proper food.
common collocation: hollowness of someone's face/cheeks/eyes
Three sleepless nights left a strange hollowness around Saira's eyes.
The actor wore careful makeup to suggest the hollowness of an old, weary king.
A doctor can read the hollowness of a child's cheeks as a sign of poor nutrition.
- gauntness
more clinical; gauntness covers the whole thin face, hollowness focuses on the inward curve.
- sunkenness
rare and almost the same meaning; sunkenness sounds even more medical.
文法句型
the hollowness of [body part]
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a face, cheeks, or eyes — never other parts of the body. Distinguish from sense 2: a sunken face has hollowness because flesh has shrunk inward, not because the head contains a hidden cavity.