Devoid

How to spell devoid

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce devoid

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does devoid mean?

1. adjectiveEntirely lacking or free from something, usually followed by 'of'.

Devoid in a sentence

• The report was devoid of any useful detail.

• The abandoned office felt cold and devoid of life.

Where does devoid come from?

Language of origin: French

Devoid traces back to the Old French verb desvoidier, meaning 'to empty out' or 'to drive away', which combined the intensive prefix des- with voidier 'to empty'. That root in turn rests on the Old French adjective voide 'empty', the same word that gives us modern English 'void', and it descends ultimately from a Latin form related to vacuus 'empty' (the source of 'vacant' and 'vacuum'). English took on the past-participle form 'devoid' in the late fourteenth century, originally meaning 'cast out' or 'removed', before settling into its modern sense of 'entirely lacking' something. The word almost always appears followed by 'of', as in 'devoid of meaning', a fixed pattern that survives from its early use. A handy spelling memory is that 'devoid' simply wraps the everyday word 'void' inside a 'de-' prefix, so if you can spell 'void' you can spell 'devoid'.

How the word is built

• de- (intensive, completely)
• void (empty)