Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vacant

/ˈveɪkənt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables: va-cant
IPA: /ˈveɪkənt/

11

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Not occupied; empty.

adj

Not present; absent.

adj

adj

Showing no intelligence or interest.

Example Sentences

"a vacant room"
"a vacant consulate"
"Below and to rearward circles the Tweed, silver grey on a dark brown field. Beside its low banks no tourists linger, vacant hangs the quivering bridge; down the narrow lanes no carriages come pressing over a succession of waving hills[…]"
"And Pierre felt that never, never would he be able to embrace Isabel with the mere brotherly embrace; while the thought of any other caress, which took hold of any domesticness, was entirely vacant from his uncontaminated soul, for it had never consciously intruded there."
"a vacant page"
"a vacant stare"

Etymology

From Old French vacant, from Latin vacāns.

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: vacant, vacāns, *h₁weh₂-

Inflected Forms

more vacant (comparative) most vacant (superlative)

Derived Forms

nonvacant semivacant unvacant vacancy vacantly(adverb) vacantness

Phrases

situations vacant vacant lot

Frequently Paired Words

vacate vacuous vacuum

Synonyms

available empty free uninhabited unoccupied beingless desert deserted howling desolate disinhabited inhabitantless

Questions

How do you pronounce vacant?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈveɪkənt/.
What does vacant mean?: Not occupied; empty.
Where does vacant come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce vacant

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vacant”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈveɪkənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “vacant”.
Repeat and practice — Say “vacant” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.