abyss

CEFRC1

/əˈbɪs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A very deep hole or seemingly bottomless space.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.

Examples

  • One step further, and you will fall into an abyss.

  • She was in an abyss of despair.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.

  2. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.

  3. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.

More examples

In context

  • They fell into the abyss of drug addiction.

  • Below is the deep abyss of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and at its head a stately semi-circle of mountains, with the pyramidal Lauterbrunnen Breithorn as the centre-piece.

  • 'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!'

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

From the cliff's edge, they stared into the dark blank that plunged thousands of feet below.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes.