Definition of odyssey
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
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Instead, over the next four years — as her mother fought to get her back — Devani suffered an odyssey of mistreatment in a succession of foster homes.
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Taking the subway into Manhattan felt like an odyssey.
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The book details how Mr. Donohue, clad in loud civilian clothes, embarked on a long odyssey through Vietnam, using his wiles to visit various military companies to surprise his friends.
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As Trump prepared to depart Washington last Friday, there was little surety among his staff that the nine-day odyssey could proceed without failure.
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Robert Pattinson stars as a small-time criminal on a nocturnal odyssey to break his brother out of custody in New York guerilla-filmmaking siblings Josh and Benny Safdie's upgrade to the Cannes competition.
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Odyssey market research divides technology consumers into six segments New Enthusiasts Hopefuls Faithfuls Oldtimers Independents Surfers.
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.
Origin and Etymology of odyssey
the Odyssey, epic poem attributed to Homer recounting the long wanderings of Odysseus
First Known Use: 1886
ODYSSEY Defined for English Language Learners
odyssey
playDefinition of odyssey for English Language Learners
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: a long journey full of adventures
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: a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone
Learn More about odyssey
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Spanish Central: Translation of odyssey Nglish: Translation of odyssey for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of odyssey for Arabic speakers
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