abyss

noun

ə-ˈbis How to pronounce abyss (audio)
Definition of abyssnext
as in ocean
an immeasurable depth or space looking down at the dark ocean from the ship's rail, the cruise passenger felt as though he was staring into an abyss

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abyss This week, Gracie Abrams pens a tearjerker on mother-daughter relationships, Steve Lacy escapes the abyss of a breakup on a colossal double track, and Beabadoobee contemplates risk and reward on a fuzzy new single. — Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026 Listen for the countdown of 3…2…1…before the trapdoor opens into the abyss. — Alicia Underlee Nelson, Midwest Living, 15 July 2026 This genius gap filler blocks that area and prevents clutter from accumulating in the hard-to-reach abyss. — Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026 While the Kings have plenty on the flank after the February addition of Artemi Panarin, Kuzmenko was a positive contributor when healthy and trusted last season, while their needs in the middle are less of a hole and more of an abyss. — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 28 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for abyss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abyss
  1. ocean
  2. chasm
  3. gulf
  4. expanse
  5. deep
Noun
  • The search for megalodon teeth has become a cottage industry in eastern North and South Carolina, a region that was once the floor of an ancient ocean.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The proposal is seen as a part of a broader push to integrate China’s civilian maritime infrastructure into national defense planning, particularly as Beijing’s security and economic interests increasingly extend across the world’s oceans.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of ocean
Noun
  • As Change Management, Not A Tech Rollout The biggest reason AI initiatives fail to deliver ROI is the chasm between deployment and adoption.
    — Khadim Batti, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • That would be the best growth since five years ago, when the economy was roaring out of the chasm created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of chasm
Noun
  • The list goes on; suffice it to say, there’s a wide gulf between Book Tumbleton and Show Tumbleton.
    — Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
  • At the start of the Iran war, that gas-spending gulf widened significantly.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of gulf
Noun
  • It’s presented as an impressionistic historical montage, of Black farmworkers and the land, with clips of Black history that include modern suburbs, and a woman—Z herself—who gazes out of a door into a sere expanse of land bordered by low mountains.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Farms bring to mind the smell of hay, the sound of gravel crunching underfoot, horses snorting, grass swaying in the rolling fields, and the vast expanse of the star-studded sky.
    — Jeffrey Dungan, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of expanse
Noun
  • His top returning receiver, Tanook Hines, is sitting out with an injury to start camp, while the rest of the pass-catcher two-deep is made up of either freshmen or transfers.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Hudson went on to speak about the depth of the water in the area where their boat was, saying that towards the stern, the water was about waist-deep, but towards the bow, the water was deeper.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026
Definition of deep

Browse Nearby Words

abysms
abyss
abyssal
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Cite this Entry

“Abyss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abyss. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of abyss for Spanish Speakers

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