nothingness

noun

noth·​ing·​ness ˈnə-thiŋ-nəs How to pronounce nothingness (audio)
1
: the quality or state of being nothing: such as
b
: utter insignificance
c
: death
2
: something insignificant or valueless
3

Examples of nothingness in a Sentence

He was staring into nothingness. The sound faded into nothingness.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen recently opened up about her own frustrations performing inside the physical nothingness required to bring Marvel’s big-budget projects together in postproduction. Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 26 Sep. 2024 David Foster Wallace’s titular Depressed Person dwindles into existential nothingness, a speck of dust in the vacuum of her agonized solipsism. Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024 There’s that funny joke that says, the discovery of the Higgs is discovering what nothingness is made out of. Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2024 There is a bright red accent on the right earbud (and inside the case) to tell you which bud is which, which is admittedly a nice addition over Apple's drab white nothingness, but otherwise these look like Cybertrucked AirPods in every sense of the word. Parker Hall, WIRED, 27 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for nothingness 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nothingness was circa 1631

Dictionary Entries Near nothingness

Cite this Entry

“Nothingness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nothingness. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on nothingness

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