abysmal
a·bys·mal/əˈbɪz.məl/adjective
abysmal is spelled A-B-Y-S-M-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables (a·bys·mal). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, abysmal means “Extremely bad; terrible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in abysmal?
| Letters | 7: A-B-Y-S-M-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: a·bys·mal |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is abysmal?
Abysmal appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abysmal?
- /əˈbɪz.məl/
- [əˈbɪz.ml̩]
Abysmal has 3 syllables, split a·bys·mal in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abysmal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of abysmal
- more abysmal comparative
- most abysmal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abysmal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicPertaining to, or resembling an abyss.
- 2
Extremely bad; terrible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abysmal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abyssal , épouvantable, terrible, exécrable |
| German | abgründig, abgrundtief , erbärmlich, jämmerlich, unterirdisch, unter aller Sau |
| Portuguese | abismal |
| Spanish | abismal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abysmal come from?
From abysm + -al. Compare abyssal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).