odyssey

noun od·ys·sey \ ˈä-də-sē \

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Examples: odyssey in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of odyssey

plural odysseys

1 : a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune

his odyssey from rural South to urban North, from poverty to affluence, from Afro-American folk culture to a Eurocentric world of books
—J. E. Wideman

2 : an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest

an odyssey of self-discovery

a spiritual odyssey from disbelief to faith

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Examples of odyssey in a Sentence

The story is about the emotional odyssey experienced by a teenage girl.
the spiritual odyssey of the deeply religious

Recent Examples of odyssey from the Web

Details of the man's odyssey had been officially kept under wraps until this week, when prosecutors unsealed court papers in advance of the sentencing.

— Fox News, "US authorities seek leniency for Islamic State cooperator," 28 June 2018
Puri’s lawsuit was only the beginning of a judicial and political odyssey.

— matías costa, Smithsonian, "The Battle Over the Memory of the Spanish Civil War," 28 June 2018
Ganim’s path to the primary has been much more of an odyssey.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "Joe Ganim And David Stemerman Qualify For Primaries For Governor," 19 June 2018
During a review odyssey that spanned most of the menu, I got lost only twice.

— mike sutter, San Antonio Express-News, "Review: Cured makes a 3½-star statement at the Pearl," 28 June 2018
McMillan’s aspirations of playing professionally didn’t pan out, launching a coaching odyssey that ultimately led him back home to pursue his two passions, basketball and fishing.

— ron kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, "Steve Kerr, Craig McMillan walked divergent paths to basketball success," 21 Feb. 2018
Lynch became a Seahawk in early October 2010, and his first team meeting set the tone for what would become a three-season odyssey that included a Super Bowl victory last February.

— robert klemko, SI.com, "A Marshawn Kind of Way," 9 Dec. 2014
Our summer vacation, a family get-together in the North Carolina coastal hamlet of Duck, is rapidly approaching—and with it, a cross-country airline odyssey.

— Redbook, "Toddlers on a Plane: Terror in the Skies," 5 July 2011
Their Russian odyssey was over but maybe not their team's.

— david harding, chicagotribune.com, "Argentina fans disappointed but still hopeful after Croatia loss," 22 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'odyssey.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey, spends 20 years traveling home from the Trojan War. He has astonishing adventures and learns a great deal about himself and the world; he even descends to the underworld to talk to the dead. Thus, an odyssey is any long, complicated journey, often a quest for a goal, and may be a spiritual or psychological journey as well as an actual voyage.