hollow

hol·low  (hl)

adj. hol·low·er, hol·low·est

1. Having a cavity, gap, or space within: a hollow wall.

2. Deeply indented or concave; sunken: "His bearded face already has a set, hollow look" Conor Cruise O'Brien.

3. Without substance or character: a hollow person. See Synonyms at vain.

4. Devoid of truth or validity; specious: "Theirs is at best a hollow form of flattery" Annalyn Swan.

5. Having a reverberating, sepulchral sound: hollow footsteps.

n.

1. A cavity, gap, or space: a hollow behind a wall.

2. An indented or concave surface or area.

3. A void; an emptiness: a hollow in one's life.

4. A small valley between mountains.

v. hol·lowed, hol·low·ing, hol·lows

v.tr.

1. To make hollow: hollow out a pumpkin.

2. To scoop or form by making concave: hollow out a nest in the sand.

v.intr.

To become hollow or empty.

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[Middle English holwe, holowe, from holgh, hole, burrow (influenced by hole, hollow), from Old English holh; see kel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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hollow·ly adv.

hollow·ness n.

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hollow

Adjective

1. having a hole or space within; not solid: a hollow tree

2. curving inwards: hollow cheeks

3. (of sounds) as if echoing in a hollow place

4. without any real value or worth: a hollow enterprise, lacking purpose, and lacking soul

Adverb

beat someone hollow Brit & NZ informal to defeat someone thoroughly

Noun

1. a cavity or space in something

2. a dip in the land

Verb

(often foll. by out)to form a hole or cavity in [Old English holh cave]

hollowly adv

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	hollow - a cavity or space in something; "hunger had caused the hollows in their cheeks" enclosed space, cavity - space that is surrounded by something
	2.	hollow - a small valley between mountains; "he built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Appalachians" holler dell, dingle - a small wooded hollow vale, valley - a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
	3.	hollow - a depression hollowed out of solid matter hole burrow, tunnel - a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter gopher hole - a hole in the ground made by gophers kettle hole, kettle - (geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits natural depression, depression - a sunken or depressed geological formation cavity, pit - a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body" chuckhole, pothole - a pit or hole produced by wear or weathering (especially in a road surface) rabbit burrow, rabbit hole - a hole in the ground as a nest made by wild rabbits wormhole - hole made by a burrowing worm
Verb	1.	hollow - remove the inner part or the core of; "the mining company wants to excavate the hillside" excavate, dig remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment" drive - excavate horizontally; "drive a tunnel" trench, ditch - cut a trench in, as for drainage; "ditch the land to drain it"; "trench the fields"
	2.	hollow - remove the interior of; "hollow out a tree trunk" core out, hollow out empty - make void or empty of contents; "Empty the box"; "The alarm emptied the building" gouge, rout - make a groove in scollop, scallop - form scallops in; "scallop the meat" hole - make holes in suck in, draw in - draw in as if by suction; "suck in your cheeks and stomach" scoop out - hollow out with a scoop; "scoop out a melon" cavern, cavern out - hollow out as if making a cavern cave, undermine - hollow out as if making a cave or opening; "The river was caving the banks" dig, dig out - create by digging; "dig a hole"; "dig out a channel" excavate - form by hollowing; "Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team"; "excavate a cavity" core - remove the core or center from; "core an apple"
Adj.	1.	hollow - not solid; having a space or gap or cavity; "a hollow wall"; "a hollow tree"; "hollow cheeks"; "his face became gaunter and more hollow with each year" empty - holding or containing nothing; "an empty glass"; "an empty room"; "full of empty seats"; "empty hours" solid - entirely of one substance with no holes inside; "a solid block of wood"
	2.	hollow - as if echoing in a hollow space; "the hollow sound of footsteps in the empty ballroom" reverberant - having a tendency to reverberate or be repeatedly reflected; "a reverberant room"; "the reverberant booms of cannon"
	3.	hollow - devoid of significance or point; "empty promises"; "a hollow victory"; "vacuous comments" empty, vacuous meaningless, nonmeaningful - having no meaning or direction or purpose; "a meaningless endeavor"; "a meaningless life"; "a verbose but meaningless explanation"

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hollow

adjective 1. empty, vacant, void, unfilled, not solid << OPPOSITE solid

adjective 2. sunken, depressed, cavernous, indented, concave, deep-set << OPPOSITE rounded

adjective 3. worthless, empty, useless, vain, meaningless, pointless, futile, fruitless, specious, Pyrrhic, unavailing << OPPOSITE meaningful

adjective 4. insincere, false, artificial, cynical, hypocritical, hollow-hearted

adjective 5. dull, low, deep, flat, rumbling, muted, muffled, expressionless, sepulchral, toneless, reverberant << OPPOSITE vibrant

noun 6. cavity, cup, hole, bowl, depression, pit, cave, den, basin, dent, crater, trough, cavern, excavation, indentation, dimple, concavity << OPPOSITE mound

noun 7. valley, dale, glen, dell, dingle << OPPOSITE hill

verb 8. (often followed by out) scoop out, dig out, excavate, gouge out, channel, groove, furrow

Translations

hollow [ˈhɔləu] adj → hueco;

(fig) → vacío; [eyes] → hundido; [sound] → sordo

n (gen) → hueco;

(in ground) → hoyo

vt to hollow out → ahuecar

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hollow [ˈhɔləu] adj → creux/euse (fig); faux(fausse)

n → creux m;

(in land) → dépression f (de terrain), cuvette f

vt to hollow out → creuser, évider

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hollow [ˈhɔləu] adj → hohl;

(eyes) → tief liegend;

(laugh) → unecht;

(sound) → dumpf (fig); leer: (victory, opinion) → wertlos

n → Vertiefung f

vt to hollow out → aushöhlen

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hollow [ˈhɔləu] adj → cavo/a, vuoto/a;

(fig) → falso/a; vano/a

n → cavità f inv;

(in land) → valletta, depressione f

hollow out vt → scavare