Chasm
noun /ˈkæz.əm/ — A deep fissure; a profound difference or divide
Definition
A deep opening in the earth's surface — or figuratively, a profound difference or gap between people, ideas, or positions that seems almost impossible to bridge.
Beyond the definition
The gap that announces itself. Where an abyss goes down, a chasm goes across. The chasm between two positions, two people, two worlds.
Origin & history
From Greek 'khasma' (gulf, abyss) — from 'khainein' (to gape). What gapes open.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The earthquake left a chasm across the road wide enough to lose a car in.
There was a chasm between what they believed about the future that their love could not quite span.
Chasms between cultures are not inevitabilities — they are the accumulated results of choices.
Synonyms
Antonyms
bridge, connection, unity
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
Fundamental Tension of Opposing Philosophies
Two adults at a crossroads in dense woods, one pointing toward a path into light, the other toward shadow, debating their views.
A chasm is a deep opening in the earth or a profound difference between people. The divergence of the two paths at the crossroads, combined with the serious, conflicting debate of the participants, illustrates the chasm between their philosophies—a gap in their understanding that is difficult to bridge.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration