abyss
noun
Simple meaning
A bottomless gulf or pit.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhbisSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈbɪs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
frequently figurative
A bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
frequently figurative
A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
with article
An impending catastrophic happening.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
An 'abyss' suggests something incredibly deep, vast, and often frightening, either literally or figuratively. It implies a sense of endlessness or a chasm from which there's no return. 'Chasm' is a good synonym.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Fantasy novel
“They gazed into the dark abyss, wondering what lay at its bottom.”
Philosophical discussion
“The sudden loss of his job plunged him into an emotional abyss.”
Nature documentary
“Divers explored the oceanic abyss, discovering new, strange creatures.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.