Blankly

Blankly is an English adverb that describes doing something in a manner that is expressionless, vacant, or lacking visible thought or emotion. It often modifies actions, facial expressions, or perceptions, signaling a disengaged or unresponsive state.

The adverb is formed from the adjective blank with the suffix -ly; blank itself denotes emptiness, openness, or a lack of differentiating features. As a usage, blankly frequently appears in descriptive prose to convey a passive or indifferent demeanor.

Common contexts include visual perception and cognitive processing: “She stared blankly at the monitor” or “He listened blankly, not grasping the point.” It can also describe mechanical or repetitive actions performed without conscious awareness: “The machine ran blankly, without instruction.”

Compared with related terms such as expressionlessly or impassively, blankly emphasizes an absence of immediate mental or emotional engagement rather than a sustained temperament. The word is generally informal to semi-formal and widely understood in everyday writing.

See also: blank, blankness, expressionless, impassive.