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 for

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

While everyone around her is losing their heads, her Taverner can look directly into the roiling abyss and calculate a way, if not to fix it, then certainly to cover it up.

From Los Angeles Times

The UN warned last week that Myanmar was "sinking into an abyss of human suffering".

From BBC

"There's a reason why it's called Alive. We came back to life. This project has pulled many of us out of the abyss."

From BBC

The place I grew up, once ringing with songs and laughter, had mutated into a black abyss strewn with the wiry corpses of oak trees.

From Los Angeles Times

“I think we all have to walk ourselves back from this abyss that we’ve looked over in our politics and work together to build a better future for this country.”

From Salon

Related Words

• chasm
• crevasse
• depth
• void