abysmal

English

Etymology

From abysm +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈbɪz.məl/, [əˈbɪz.ml̩]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪzməl

Adjective

abysmal (comparative more abysmal, superlative most abysmal)

1. (now rare) Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]

   Synonyms: unending, profound, fathomless, immeasurable

   • 1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:

     The latter [geology] gives one the same sort of bewildering view of the abysmal extent of Time that Astronomy does of Space. [First attested in the early 19^th century.]

2. (figurative) extremely bad; terrible.
   • 2012 June 9, Owen Phillips, “Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Robben curled an effort against the foot of the post from the edge of the box after being gifted the ball by an abysmal clearance from keeper Stephan Andersen.

Derived terms

• abysmally

 

Collocations

with nouns

• abysmal ignorance
• abysmal record
• abysmal performance
• abysmal poverty
• abysmal conditions
• abysmal quality
• abysmal result
• abysmal service
• abysmal failure

Translations

pertaining to, or resembling an abyss; bottomless; unending; profound

• Bulgarian: бездънен (bg) (bezdǎnen)
• Finnish: pohjaton (fi), äärimmäinen (fi), surkea (fi), toivoton (fi), kelvoton (fi)
• French: abyssal (fr) m
• German: abgründig (de), abgrundtief (de)
• Greek: αβυσσαλέος (el) m (avyssaléos), απύθμενος (el) m (apýthmenos), απειροβαθής m (apeirovathís), άπατος (el) m (ápatos)
• Hungarian: feneketlen (hu), mélységes (hu)
• Italian: abissale (it)
• Persian: مغاک‌مانند (mağâk-mânand), ژرفناک (žarf-nâk)
• Portuguese: abismal
• Russian: бездо́нный (ru) (bezdónnyj)
• Spanish: abismal (es), insondable (es)

extremely bad

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 无可救药 (zh) (wúkějiùyào), 烂透 (zh)

• Esperanto: malbonega
• Finnish: hirvittävä (fi), kammottava (fi), kauhea (fi)
• French: épouvantable (fr) m or f, terrible (fr) m or f, exécrable (fr) m or f
• German: erbärmlich (de), jämmerlich (de), unterirdisch (de), unter aller Sau (de)
• Greek: ανεκδιήγητος (el) m (anekdiígitos), απερίγραπτος (el) m (aperígraptos)
• Hungarian: gyalázatos (hu), borzalmas (hu), rettenetes (hu), szánalmas (hu), siralmas (hu), nyomorúságos (hu), csúfos (hu), lehangoló (hu), lesújtó (hu), iszonyú (hu), szörnyű (hu), pocsék (hu), kritikán aluli, rémes (hu)
• Italian: disastroso (it), pessimo (it)
• Persian: وحشتناک (fa) (vahšat-nâk), افتضاح (fa) (eftezâh)
• Polish: beznadziejny (pl)
• Portuguese: abismal
• Russian: отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: у̏жа̄сан

  Roman: ȕžāsan (sh)

• Spanish: atroz (es), desastroso (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} abismala (io)

Further reading

• “abysmal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “abysmal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• balsamy

Portuguese

Adjective

abysmal m or f (plural abysmaes)

1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of abismal.