Abyss
noun /əˈbɪs/ — A deep or bottomless chasm; a void without end
Definition
A deep or seemingly bottomless chasm — or figuratively, a profound gulf of despair, ignorance, or difference that seems impossible to cross or fill.
Beyond the definition
The word for depths that cannot be measured. Nietzsche wrote: 'If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.' The abyss is not passive.
Origin & history
From Greek 'abyssos' — 'a' (without) + 'byssos' (bottom). Literally bottomless. In early Christian usage, the primordial deep before creation.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The submarine lights revealed nothing — the abyss simply absorbed them.
He stared into the abyss of his own failures and found, unexpectedly, something to build from.
An abyss between two people is not always distance — sometimes it is a failure to try.
Synonyms
Antonyms
summit, peak, surface
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Deep Imposing Maze Entrance
An adult stands before a complex, stone-walled maze with towering walls and a dark, imposing guardian figure at the center of the entrance.
An abyss is a deep, seemingly bottomless chasm or, figuratively, an impassable gulf of despair. The dark, towering entrance to the maze—where the interior is lost in shadow—serves as a visual analogy for the abyss: a trial so deep and complex that it is difficult to see a way through.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration