--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was better to leave the space empty of…" description: "\"“It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.”\" — Robin Hobb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg" --- # It was better to leave the space empty of words than to… ![“It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg) > ““It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.”” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing words poorly can cause more harm than saying nothing; silence can protect meaning. **In simple terms:** Wrong words hurt more than silence. Key Takeaway Speak only when sure. Themes communication wisdom silence Mood thoughtful reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - personal relationships Key Concepts language precision intentionality Questions to Reflect On - When should you speak versus stay silent? - How do you decide the right words? A Different Perspective Silence may also be misinterpreted as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“In Texas there’s so much space words have a way Of getting lost in the silence before they’re spoken So people hang on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/in-texas-there-s-so-much-space-words-have-a-way-of-getting-lost-in/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“We never had conversations; we had nonversations, where we just filled empty space with words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-strauss/we-never-had-conversations-we-had-nonversations-where-we-just-filled/) [Neil Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-strauss/) > [I feel that what you should illustrate is the space between the words. It's the betweenness, the otherness, that gives depth and dimension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-froud/i-feel-that-what-you-should-illustrate-is-the-space-between-the-words/) [Brian Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-froud/) > [Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/never-again-clutter-your-days-or-nights-with-so-many-menial-and-3/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Leave a space and something will fill it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/leave-a-space-and-something-will-fill-it/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [When words & manners leave you no space for yourself make very personal very clear & your obstructions will join you or disappear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/when-words-manners-leave-you-no-space-for-yourself-make-very-personal/) [Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/) > [“But dead people leave a space. It’s not a physical space. It’s a part of our life that remains in a vacuum. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-teague/but-dead-people-leave-a-space-it-s-not-a-physical-space-it-s-a-part/) Paul Teague > [The idea for a book usually bubbles up from my sub-conscious when I am drifting off to sleep. Each one has started as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bradby/the-idea-for-a-book-usually-bubbles-up-from-my-sub-conscious-when-i/) [Marie Bradby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bradby/) > [What empowers me in my daily work and life is the knowledge that I will be guided, if I let go of my need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-kavanagh/what-empowers-me-in-my-daily-work-and-life-is-the-knowledge-that-i/) [Jennifer Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-kavanagh/) > [I try to leave some space in my mind for things to surprise me or change my mind, I think that's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-try-to-leave-some-space-in-my-mind-for-things-to-surprise-me-or/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I personally don't lock in a performance, because I do leave room for things to happen, so I just make sure I'm very intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kelechi-watson/i-personally-don-t-lock-in-a-performance-because-i-do-leave-room-for/) [Susan Kelechi Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kelechi-watson/) > [I call on you not to hate, because hate does not leave space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/i-call-on-you-not-to-hate-because-hate-does-not-leave-space-for-a/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [You've gotta leave enough space for your actors to bring stuff to the table and whatever the weather's doing that day or what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/you-ve-gotta-leave-enough-space-for-your-actors-to-bring-stuff-to-the/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [A lot of guitar players, in every genre, are afraid to leave space. They're afraid to leave a hole, afraid they'll fall down it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-moore/a-lot-of-guitar-players-in-every-genre-are-afraid-to-leave-space-they/) [Gary Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-moore/) > [I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because I always get my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-leave-enough-space-in-the/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Hobb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-of-words-than-to-choose-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-of-words-than-to-choose-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/robin-hobb-489_language_it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-o_1261725.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.” — Robin Hobb", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robin Hobb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was better to leave the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-of-words-than-to-choose-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/it-was-better-to-leave-the-space-empty-of-words-than-to-choose-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```