chasm

[ kaz-uhm ]

See synonyms for chasm on Thesaurus.com

noun

a yawning fissure or deep cleft in the earth's surface; gorge.
a breach or wide fissure in a wall or other structure.

a marked interruption of continuity; gap: a chasm in time.
a sundering breach in relations, as a divergence of opinions, beliefs, etc., between persons or groups.

Origin of chasm

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

Other words from chasm

chasmal, chasmic, adjective
chasmed, adjective
chasmy, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use chasm in a sentence

But she prefers to steer clear of labels, which can create chasms between people that otherwise share the same goals and beliefs.
Twin visions of Islamic Feminism Split Muslim Community | Shaheen Pasha | September 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The characters inhabit a patriarchal, unalterably hierarchal society, where class—and the chasms it creates—is front and center.
Khaled Hosseini’s Favorite Story Collections | Khaled Hosseini | May 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
It often happens that two chasms converging separate a rock from the cliff.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
To save her reason, Barbara, with her wonderful tenderness, had bridged over the chasms between her stark peaks of discovery.
Jaffery | William J. Locke
Soon he was deep in that huge volume, out of the dull world of London among the gorges and chasms and waterfalls of Castile.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie

The first two or three miles of our course was through the towering cliffs and wooded chasms we had admired from the Clifton Down.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845 | Various
It is no longer easy to wave courteous salutations across the chasms which divide parties.
Humanly Speaking | Samuel McChord Crothers

British Dictionary definitions for chasm

chasm

/ (ˈkæzəm) /

noun

a deep cleft in the ground; abyss
a break in continuity; gap

a wide difference in interests, feelings, etc

Origin of chasm

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

Derived forms of chasm

chasmal (ˈkæzməl) or chasmic, adjective

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

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