Abyss
a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
anything profound, unfathomable, or infinite:
the abyss of time.
the primal chaos before Creation.
the infernal regions; hell.
a subterranean ocean.
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Contemporary Examples
“Sometimes you have to create the abyss so it can be filled with something,” he said.
CNN Chief Dishes on Exit Rebecca Dana September 23, 2010
They are more often than not kids who are the twin brothers of the fabulous traders who led Wall Street to the abyss.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Downgrade Moody’s! Bernard-Henri Lévy December 13, 2011
Brazilian police have pulled back the city from an abyss of crime.
Rio’s Security Crisis Mac Margolis August 6, 2013
Acclaimed documentarian Werner Herzog takes an unsparing look at the death penalty in his new film, ‘Into the abyss.’
Werner Herzog’s ‘Into the Abyss’ Explores the Death Penalty Ben Crair November 19, 2011
In the month since elections produced not one but two presidents, the country has teetered on the abyss of violence.
Civil War Looms in Ivory Coast Firouzeh Afsharnia January 2, 2011
Historical Examples
The thought of her was life and death in his frame, bright heaven and the abyss.
The Tragic Comedians, Complete George Meredith
But if one falls, that is no reason to throw oneself in the abyss.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales Guy De Maupassant
Well for me it was not the abyss which yawns at the end of Pillar Hall.
A Month in Yorkshire Walter White
Invoke not the unhallowed spirits of the abyss; invoke the spotless synod of the Gods.
Imogen William Godwin
In its palmy days people were only speculating upon the borders of an abyss which had not yet opened visibly before them.
The Women of the French Salons Amelia Gere Mason
noun
a very deep or unfathomable gorge or chasm
anything that appears to be endless or immeasurably deep, such as time, despair, or shame
hell or the infernal regions conceived of as a bottomless pit
n.
late 14c., earlier abime (c.1300, from a form in Old French), from Late Latin abyssus “bottomless pit,” from Greek abyssos (limne) “bottomless (pool),” from a- “without” (see a- (2)) + byssos “bottom,” possibly related to bathos “depth.”
Read Also:
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of or like an ; immeasurable; unfathomable. of or relating to the biogeographic zone of the ocean bottom between the bathyal and hadal zones: from depths of approximately 13,000 to 21,000 feet (4000 to 6500 meters). Historical Examples In their morphological characters they gradually approach the pelagic forms upwards and the abyssal downwards. Report on […]
- Abyssal plain
noun a large area of extremely flat or gently sloping ocean floor just offshore from a continent, at depths of 13,000-20,000 feet Examples The abyssal plains begin where the continental margins end. Several species of worms, shrimp, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and fish live in abyssal plains. Usage Note geography
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former name of (def 1). (def 2). Contemporary Examples In The Abyssinian he tells the story of a diplomatic mission from Louis XIV of France to the King of Abyssinia. The Thief of Words: Starling Lawrence Jill Bialosky October 10, 2013 Historical Examples Abyssinia proper is an elevated region, with a general slope to the […]
- Abyssinian
former name of (def 1). (def 2). Contemporary Examples In The abyssinian he tells the story of a diplomatic mission from Louis XIV of France to the King of Abyssinia. The Thief of Words: Starling Lawrence Jill Bialosky October 10, 2013 Since 1996, Bolding has been director of the Chancel Choir (renamed The Inspirational Voices […]
- Abyssinian banana
a large, treelike Ethiopian plant, Ensete ventricosum, of the banana family, having leaves about 15 feet (4 meters) long, whitish flowers with reddish-brown bracts, and dry, inedible fruit.