1
a
: an immeasurably deep gulf or great space
gazed down into the gaping abyss
the ocean's abysses
(figurative) a widening abyss between the rich and the poor
b
: intellectual or moral depths
an abyss of moral depravity
an abyss of despair
2
: the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies
Examples of abyss in a Sentence
looking down at the dark ocean from the ship's rail, the cruise passenger felt as though he was staring into an abyss
Recent Examples on the Web
His investigation is a testament to the power of perseverance, albeit a perseverance that threatens to turn into an obsession that could drag him into the abyss à la Captain Ahab.
—
Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
And that’s the abyss where San Diego State, and its hopes of a Mountain West regular-season title and an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation, descended on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd and a national CBS television audience.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
His vertiginous ending, suspended over a romantic abyss, redefines the very notion of an emotional breakdown.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abyss
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Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2026
The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
And that’s the abyss where San Diego State, and its hopes of a Mountain West regular-season title and an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation, descended on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd and a national CBS television audience.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
His vertiginous ending, suspended over a romantic abyss, redefines the very notion of an emotional breakdown.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abyss
Cite this Entry
“Abyss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyss. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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abyss
noun
: a gulf so deep or a space so great that it cannot be measured
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