Definitions

hollow-eyed

[hol-oh-ahyd] / ˈhɒl oʊˌaɪd /

ADJECTIVE

haggard

Synonyms

WEAK

ashen careworn drawn emaciated exhausted faded fagged fatigued fretted gaunt ghastly lank lean pale pallid pinched scraggy scrawny shrunken skinny spare starved thin tired wan wasted weak wearied worn worn-down wrinkled

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The pictures show a pallid, hollow-eyed man, resembling Poe, who’s sitting by the fire in his dressing gown when there comes a gentle “rapping, rapping” at the door.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

“How’s it going?” he asked the hollow-eyed face on the screen.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2021

At the Minsk airport, Iraqi families slumped hollow-eyed in seats as the plane was delayed several hours.

From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2021

There’s far more turbulence onboard, where the hollow-eyed man and a handful of others rise before the sun and work into the night, though work is too dignified a word to describe this hell.

From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2020

They were hollow-eyed men who couldn’t believe their luck Two or three of them, then five or six.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck