abysmal
Americanadjective
-
of or like an abyss; immeasurably deep or great.
-
extremely or hopelessly bad or severe.
abysmal ignorance; abysmal poverty.
adjective
-
immeasurable; very great
abysmal stupidity
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informal extremely bad
an abysmal film
Other Word Forms
- abysmally adverb
- ultra-abysmal adjective
Etymology
Origin of abysmal
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As if the ugliness of the 120 minutes wasn't enough - the grisly battle, the hair-on-fire panic, the abysmal lack of anything resembling coherence or even competence - there was the disgrace of the post-match.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
We are drowning in a sea of abysmal, artificially generated prose.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
For the rest of the time, the returns were abysmal.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 18, 2026
Two years ago, the Bruins were headed for what looked like a truly abysmal season.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
Her mind was reeling with misconceptions and abysmal value judgments.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
