abyss

¹

[ uh-bis ]

noun

1. a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
2. anything that seems to be without end or is impossible to measure, define, or comprehend:

   the abyss of their grief and sorrow.

3. (in ancient cosmogony)
   1. the primal chaos before Creation.
   2. the infernal regions; hell.
   3. a subterranean ocean.

Abyss.

²

abbreviation for

1. Abyssinia.
2. Abyssinian.

abyss

/ əˈbɪs /

noun

1. a very deep or unfathomable gorge or chasm
2. anything that appears to be endless or immeasurably deep, such as time, despair, or shame
3. hell or the infernal regions conceived of as a bottomless pit

Word History and Origins

Origin of abyss¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus, from Greek ábyssos “bottomless,” equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + byssós “bottom of the sea”

Word History and Origins

Origin of abyss¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek abussos bottomless (as in the phrase abussos limnē bottomless lake), from a- ¹+ bussos depth

Example Sentences

Such dark matter, a vast abyss, is evidence of a viral world we must come to understand better.

From Nautilus

Doolittle, for example, is just one of many veteran relievers floating through this offseason abyss.

From Washington Post

Out of the abyss of the primary came Darrell Issa, who served for nine terms in Congress in the neighboring 49th Congressional District.

From Voice of San Diego

In this age of advanced gene technology, the true abyss of renunciation from which we speak “I” is only now becoming obvious to us.

From Nautilus

Big names use their longevity, time-tested popularity, and a fat purse to create a monopoly and call the market shot — and having earned proprietary eponyms, they push low-budget upcoming competitors into the abyss.

From Search Engine Watch

Hollywood, too, became enraptured by the exotic abyss of Stanleyville.

From The Daily Beast

But, Ali warns all that can change quickly if Anbar continues to crumble, “right now, we are looking into the Abyss.”

From The Daily Beast

And my beloved Zimbabwe has sunk from a promising beacon into an abyss of greed and dictatorship.

From The Daily Beast

But when patients open their jaws, he totters on the abyss and gets no steadying hand from God.

From The Daily Beast

And when I made the Abyss, which had a giant wave scene in it, those stopped.

From The Daily Beast

He sees no longer the brink of the abyss beside which the path of progress picks its painful way.

From Project Gutenberg

In the abyss of her heart, too deep at first for recognition, the girl loved him, and had loved him from the very beginning.

From Project Gutenberg

The path leading to it is over a small ledge of rock, skirted on each side by a yawning abyss.

From Project Gutenberg

The poor, tearful desire lays a pale hand on reason's lips and gazes wistfully into the mysterious abyss of the Great Silence.

From Project Gutenberg

She points to her pinions stretched over the abyss of primeval fire, her eyes blinded by its awful glare, and remains silent.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• chasm
• crevasse
• depth
• void