hollowing out
Removing the inside
Hollowing out is the process of removing material from the interior of something, leaving only the outer shell: hollowing out a pumpkin, hollowing out a log for a canoe.
Figuratively, it describes the gradual erosion of substance while appearances remain intact—the hollowing out of democratic institutions, the hollowing out of the middle class, the hollowing out of a brand's identity.
- emptyingRemoving all contents
- denudingRemoving outer covering
- eating awayGradual destruction process
- coringRemoving central portion
- disintegrationProcess of breaking apart
urban decay · deindustrialization · rustbelt · decline · erosion · disinvestment · commodification · skeletonizing · excavation · attrition · carving · outsourcing · race to the bottom · trivialization · dismantling · bleeding dry · downsizing · evisceration
- rural declinedepopulation, rural exodus, brain drain, outmigration, dying towns
- depopulationpopulation loss, emptying, rural exodus, mass exodus, emigration
hollowing outfilling in
Temporary replacement duty
filling · filling up · stuffing · packing · infilling
hollowing outsolidifying
Becoming rigid or fixed
reinforcing · strengthening · fortifying · shoring up · bolstering
hollowing outbuilding up
Increasing gradually
strengthening · reinvigorating · revitalizing · shoring up · rebuilding
hollow, hollowed, hollowness, hollowing, hollowly, hollower, hollowest, hollowware