Avoided having emptiness (4)
I believe the answer is:
void
'emptiness' is the definition.
(I know that emptiness can be written as void)
'avoided having' is the wordplay.
'having' indicates a hidden word.
'VOID' can be found hidden inside 'avoided'.
(Other definitions for void that I've seen before include "Null and invalid" , "Null or emptiness" , "Nullify" , "Emptiness, empty space" , "absence of a suit" .)