abyss

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableliterary

   A very deep, dark chasm or hole in the earth; a seemingly bottomless depth.

   Grammar: Countable but the plural 'abysses' is rare; usually singular with an article: 'a deep abyss.'

   Patterns

   • a deep abyss
   • a gaping abyss
   • the edge of the abyss

   The cave opened into a dark abyss that the light could not reach.

   Standing at the edge of the abyss, the hikers heard water far below.

   Legends said the lake hid an abyss with no bottom.

2. 2nounusually singularfigurative

   A situation of extreme despair, danger, or a vast gap between people or things.

   Grammar: Usually singular and figurative: 'the abyss of grief,' 'an abyss between rich and poor.'

   Patterns

   • stare into the abyss
   • the abyss of something
   • an abyss between two things

   After the company collapsed, he felt he was staring into the abyss.

   There is a growing abyss between the city and the countryside.

   Her grief was an abyss that friends could only watch from a distance.

Word forms

Common combinations

stare into the abyss

Losing his savings made him feel he was staring into the abyss.

a gaping abyss

A gaping abyss had opened in the road after the storm.

the abyss of despair

The character sinks into the abyss of despair before finding hope.

on the edge of the abyss

The ceasefire left the nation on the edge of the abyss.

Synonyms and how they differ

chasm

Chasm is the literal near-synonym for a deep crack or gorge and can be figurative too; abyss suggests greater, often bottomless depth.

void

Void stresses empty nothingness and is strongly figurative; abyss suggests depth below.

gulf

Gulf is the usual figurative word for a wide gap between people, ideas, or groups.

Opposites

Word family

abyssal adjective

of the deepest ocean, as in the abyssal zone

abysmal adjective

originally 'like an abyss'; now means extremely bad

Commonly confused: abyss or abysmal?

Practice

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