abysmal
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈbɪz.məl/
- (US) IPA(key): /əˈbɪz.məl/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪsməl
Adjective
abysmal (comparative more abysmal, superlative most abysmal)
- (now rare) Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss. [First attested in the mid 17th century.][1]
- Synonyms: unending, profound, fathomless, immeasurable
- (Can we date this quote?), Carlyle, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- Geology gives one the same abysmal extent of time that astronomy does of space. [First attested in the early 19th century.][1]
- (figuratively) extremely bad; terrible.
Usage notes
- Nouns to which "abysmal" is often applied: ignorance, record, performance, poverty, conditions, quality, perplexity, result, service, and failure.
Translations
pertaining to, or resembling an abyss; bottomless; unending; profound
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extremely bad
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “abysmal” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 11.
Further reading
- abysmal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- abysmal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Portuguese
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