Meaning & use
vacuously
Last updated
in a manner that shows a lack of thought, ideas, or intelligence; emptily or mindlessly.
See it in a sentence
He smiled vacuously at the question, clearly not having listened to a word.
The character stared vacuously at the television for hours without changing the channel.
A note on using this word
In logic, 'vacuously true' describes a statement that is technically true only because its condition is never actually met, a specialized philosophical use of the same root.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vacuously”, then compare your use with the examples above.