abyss
/əˈbɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.40 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
noun
A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
noun
Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
noun
noun
The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
noun
The abyssal zone.
noun
A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.
Example Sentences
- "'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!'"
- "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."
- "They fell into the abyss of drug addiction."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈbɪs/
- British English: /əˈbɪs/