empty chair

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Datamuse reports no synonyms or antonyms for this word.

Noun

1. {{lb|en|psychotherapy}} A [[chair]] which is used to personify the [[client]]'s object of [[conflict]]
2. A podium or chair left empty to highlight the absence of someone from a debate.
3. A position held by someone who is absent or otherwise ineffectual.

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive|debating}} To draw attention to (a person who is absent from a debate) by providing an empty podium or chair which they would have occupied.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.