English Dictionary
Definition of “abyss”
abyss (əˈbɪs
)
Definitions
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
C16: via Late Latin from Greek abussos bottomless (as in the phrase abussos limnē bottomless lake), from a-C16: via Late Latin from Greek bottomless (as in the phrase bottomless lake), from 1 + depth + bussos depth
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
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chasm,
gulf,
split,
crack,
gap,
pit,
opening,
breach,
hollow,
void,
gorge,
crater,
cavity,
ravine,
cleft,
fissure,
crevasse,
bottomless depth
abysm,
Usage examples
You cried when you hit your finger with a hammer, not when the abyss has opened up inside you.
Robert Wilson, THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)So did living in the time of a tech abyss affect their decision to make the sale?
Business Today (2002)Only after dawn came, hours later, did he realize those homes were perched on the edge of an abyss.
Globe and Mail (2005)It adds: "We are without doubt on the edge of an abyss.
Times, Sunday Times (2002)There were wide, deep cracks and holes in the ground and, eventually, she fell into a deep abyss.
Arthur Berger & Joyce Berger, Reincarnation - Fact or Fable? (1991)
