Jejunity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being dull, uninteresting, or lacking depth or substance
2. A state marked by flatness, emptiness, or triviality, especially in ideas or style
3. An absence of meaningful content or excitement that results in blandness or insipidity

Etymology: Jejunity is a plain formation: the adjective "jejune" with the abstract-noun suffix "-ity" attached. The suffix comes from Latin "-itas" through Old French, the same ending that turns "rare" into "rarity" or "solid" into "solidity," so it adds the sense of a quality or state. The more interesting part is the base word. "Jejune" comes from Latin "jejunus," which meant "empty" or "barren," and it was used of hungry stomachs and of dry, unproductive ground. That physical emptiness is still present when English speakers call something jejune: the idea of a mind or argument with nothing in it. Over time the sense moved from bodily hunger toward intellectual lack, so a jejune remark is one that is thin and uninteresting rather than merely short. Jejunity therefore names the condition of being intellectually empty or dull, the quality that a jejune book, speech or idea possesses. It is a rare word, used mainly in formal or literary writing, and its meaning follows directly from the adjective it is built on.

Synonyms: insipidity, dullness, tediousness

Antonyms: richness, depth, substantiality