vazio

Vazio is a Portuguese adjective and noun that designates a lack of content, substance, or presence. As an adjective, it describes objects or spaces that are not filled or that do not carry what would normally be expected, as in “garrafa vazia” (empty bottle) or “ambiente vazio” (empty room). The feminine form is vazia, and the plural is vazios or vazias, depending on the noun modified.

Etymology and distinction from vácuo: vazio derives from Latin vacuus, meaning void or empty. In everyday language it conveys absence rather than a physical vacuum. The term vácuo, by contrast, is the technical word for a physical vacuum—an area devoid of matter—which appears in physics and related fields. Although related in meaning, vazio is broader and more commonly used outside scientific contexts.

In mathematics and logic: the concept of o vazio (the empty set) refers to the unique set that contains no elements. It is often denoted by Ø or ∅ and is a fundamental object in set theory, with the property that it is a subset of every set and has cardinality zero.

In philosophy, literature, and culture: o vazio is frequently used to describe existential or metaphysical absence, meaninglessness, or emptiness of experience. It appears in various philosophical debates, artistic works, and religious or spiritual discussions as a theme or motif.

In computing and everyday language: vazio can refer to empty fields, empty strings, or unfilled data. It is also used in idiomatic expressions to emphasize lack or absence, such as a “vazio de conteúdo” in a text.

The term may appear as a proper noun in some contexts, but its primary sense remains the description of emptiness or absence across diverse domains.