hollowness

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
hollow/ˈhɒləʊ/

▶adjective

• 1 having a hole or empty space inside.

  ■ concave.

• 2 (of a sound) echoing.

• 3 without real value: the result was a hollow victory.

  ■ insincere: a hollow promise.

▶noun

• 1 a hole or depression.

• 2 a small valley.

▶verb (usu. hollow something out) form something by hollowing.

■ make hollow.

– phrases
beat someone hollow defeat someone thoroughly.

– derivatives
hollowly adverb,
hollowness noun.

– origin OE holh ‘cave’; obscurely rel. to hole.