Meaning & use
odyssey
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Meanings
nouncountable
A long and adventurous journey, usually with many changes of fortune along the way.
Grammar: Often takes of or through: an odyssey through Asia.
Patterns
- an odyssey through something
- an odyssey of something
Their odyssey across Africa lasted almost two years.
The refugees' odyssey ended in a small coastal town.
She described her trip along the old trade routes as the odyssey of a lifetime.
nouncountablefigurative
A long, difficult process of searching or personal change, not necessarily involving travel.
Grammar: Used figuratively for a journey of the mind or career.
Patterns
- an odyssey of discovery
- a spiritual odyssey
Writing the novel became an intellectual odyssey for him.
Her career odyssey took her from nursing to law and then to politics.
The documentary follows one family's odyssey through the immigration system.
proper nounproper
The ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, telling of Odysseus's ten-year voyage home.
Grammar: Capitalized and usually used with the: the Odyssey.
Patterns
- Homer's Odyssey
We read the Odyssey in our first literature class.
The Odyssey follows Odysseus as he struggles to return to Ithaca.
Many modern films borrow plot ideas from the Odyssey.
Word forms
| plural | odysseys |
|---|
Common combinations
- a spiritual odyssey
- His spiritual odyssey took him through three religions.
- embark on an odyssey
- They embarked on an odyssey that would last three years.
- an epic odyssey
- The film is an epic odyssey across the American West.
- a personal odyssey
- Her memoir is a personal odyssey of loss and recovery.
- the odyssey of a lifetime
- The sailing trip became the odyssey of a lifetime.
Synonyms and how they differ
- journey
- Journey is a plain, general word for travel, while odyssey suggests length, adventure and many obstacles.
- quest
- A quest has a specific goal being sought, whereas an odyssey emphasizes the wandering and the experiences along the way.
- expedition
- An expedition is an organized trip with a purpose, such as exploration, and lacks the epic overtones of odyssey.
Word family
Commonly confused: odyssey or odyssey?
odyssey vs odyssey
The spelling odysey, with one s and one e, is a common error; remember the double s and the y near the end.
Practice
The explorer's three-year trip across hostile deserts and mountains was a true ___.
Choose one answer.
Odyssey means a long, eventful journey; an errand, commute or outing would be short and ordinary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “odyssey”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.