chasm

[ kaz-uhm ]

noun

1. a yawning fissure or deep cleft in the earth's surface; gorge.
2. a breach or wide fissure in a wall or other structure.
3. a marked interruption of continuity; gap:

   a chasm in time.

4. a sundering breach in relations, as a divergence of opinions, beliefs, etc., between persons or groups.

chasm

/ ˈkæzməl; ˈkæzəm /

noun

1. a deep cleft in the ground; abyss
2. a break in continuity; gap
3. a wide difference in interests, feelings, etc

Derived Forms

• chasmal, adjective

Other Words From

• chasmal chasmic adjective
• chasmed adjective
• chasmy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chasm¹

1590–1600; apocopated variant of chasma < Latin < Greek, equivalent to cha- (root of chaínein to gape; yawn ) + -( a ) sma resultative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of chasm¹

C17: from Latin chasma, from Greek khasma; related to Greek khainein to gape

Example Sentences

The Wizards lost, 119-97, to the Hornets after falling into yet another first-half hole — they have felt more like chasms lately — this one a 21-point deficit.

From Washington Post

The chasm in the party between its base and its elected leaders in Washington can be traced back to the cracks that emerged about a decade ago.

From Washington Post

Some of them appear to have erupted from volcanic pits or chasms within the last few million years, perhaps even within the last few tens of thousands of years.

From Quanta Magazine

Allen and Cummings crossed lines that in America today increasingly resemble a chasm.

From Washington Post

A chasm had opened between me and my skin, as though I were fumbling around in a too-big pair of gloves.

From Washington Post

Over the next few years, a chasm would open up between the Party and the KGB, culminating with the failed coup in August 1991.

From The Daily Beast

I was writing a cover story for ‬Newsweek‪ about the chasm between white and black understandings of the Martin case.

From The Daily Beast

The result in all three cases is a chasm between image and performance that magnifies the narrative of dashed expectations.

From The Daily Beast

Inching towards the opposing positions will never bridge the yawning chasm between them.

From The Daily Beast

The vast chasm between these two groups and regular Republicans is something that Republican lawmakers can't easily bridge.

From The Daily Beast

At a distance of four miles from the colony, a waterfall foams down a chasm which it has worn away for itself.

From Project Gutenberg

The procession, preceded by Bob on his feathered steed, passed through a chasm overgrown with brambles.

From Project Gutenberg

In most cases the roofs over these sea caves fall in, so that the structure is known as a chasm.

From Project Gutenberg

Two miles to the east the San Juan burst out of a defile of sandstone, and a mile to the west it disappeared in a similar chasm.

From Project Gutenberg

He was in a chasm, twenty-five hundred feet below the average surface of the earth, the floor of which was a swift river.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cleavage
• crater
• crevasse
• fissure
• gorge
• ravine
• rift
• schism
• void