abyss
noun/əˈbɪs/
/əˈbɪs/
[usually singular] (formal or literary)- a very deep wide space or hole that seems to have no bottom
- Ahead of them was a gaping abyss.
- They took a long look into the abyss before deciding whether to jump.
- (figurative) an abyss of ignorance/despair/loneliness
- (figurative) The country is stepping back from the edge of an abyss.
- teetering on the edge of the abyss of total political wipeout
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘infernal pit’): via late Latin from Greek abussos ‘bottomless’, from a- ‘without’ + bussos ‘depth’.
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abyss