Empson

American

[emp-suhn] / ˈɛmp sən /

noun

William, 1906–84, English critic and poet.

Empson British

/ ˈɛmpsən /

noun

Sir William. 1906–84, English poet and critic; author of Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

But if anyone can, he’s the guy,” Empson remembers the guide saying.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Conrad Empson, 29 from Southampton, starred in Season 3 of Below Deck Mediterranean and says a lot of problems stem from yachting's "secretive" nature.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2023

“Too much informality could be undermining,” Ms. Empson said.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

In “Missing Dates,” a haunting villanelle about helpless love and despair, William Empson writes: “Slowly the poison the whole blood stream fills./ The waste remains, the waste remains and kills.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2020

He lifts an opinion from Coleridge, takes something else from Frye or Empson or Leavis.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023