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abyss

[ uh-bis ]
/ əˈbɪs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR abyss ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
anything profound, unfathomable, or infinite: the abyss of time.
(in ancient cosmogony)
  1. the primal chaos before Creation.
  2. the infernal regions; hell.
  3. a subterranean ocean.

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a person given to voluble, empty talk.
an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
a check whose amount has been raised by forgery before cashing.
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Origin of abyss

1350–1400; earlier abisse,Middle English abissus<Late Latin abyssus<Greek ábyssos bottomless, equivalent to a-a-6 + byssós bottom of the sea

Words nearby abyss

Abwehr, aby, Abydos, abysm, abysmal, abyss, abyssal, Abyssinia, Abyssinian, Abyssinian banana, Abyssinian cat

Definition for abyss (2 of 2)

Abyss.

Abyssinia.
Abyssinian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to abyss

void, depth, crevasse, chasm, gulf, fissure, gorge, hole, pit, abysm

Example sentences from the Web for abyss

British Dictionary definitions for abyss

abyss
/ (əˈbɪs) /

noun

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

Word Origin for abyss

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