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

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

Klein attached an array of small pebbles to the painting's surface, making it "evocative of a seabed beneath the blue abyss of an ocean", according to the auction house's description.

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"I personally have a strong feeling that, by continuing the war, Russia is racing headlong toward the abyss".

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"And that will be the abyss that we end up falling into."

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“We are marching towards a political, economic, and social abyss that will endanger our existence in Israel.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In virtually every case, they are sinking in the polls and facing incoming fire from all directions, and now seem to hang by a thread over a dark electoral abyss.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• chasm 
• crevasse 
• depth 
• void