abysmal

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The weather in the West Country was abysmal, the lashing rain turning the Cornish turf to a quagmire.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Resembling an abyss in depth; unfathomable.
  2. adjective Very profound; limitless: abysmal misery.
  3. adjective Very bad: an abysmal performance.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (42)

  • Another large percentage appear fine until I start to read them: the spelling is abysmal, the punctuation non-existent, and the syntax is convoluted. —  F ;SF; - vol 090 issue 06 - June 1996
  • There was a kind of black, abysmal, meaningless shock about a head blow that upset him. —  169 - Danger Lies East
  • When the hatch banged shut the darkness was abysmal, and seemed to signal an end to all hope. —  StrangeHorizons,July2002
  • The fresh produce was abysmal, all pre-cut, pre-packaged; as was the meat. —  Thyme For Cooking, the Blog
  • The starting pitching was abysmal, the lineup went colder than the proverbial witch's tit and the Indians played great baseball, especially in clutch situations. —  The Feed
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from abysm + -al; = Spanish Portuguese abismal.
 

Pronunciations
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/əˈbɪzməl/
by American Heritage

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