abysmal

/əˈbɪz.məl/

//əˈbɪz.məl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abysmal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abysmal” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,848. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,848
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abysmal · abysmal · English

abysmal · rank #31,848 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,848
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Addams

Nearest frequency peer: Addams (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abysmal”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abysmal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abysmal
PropertyValue
Headwordabysmal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈbɪz.məl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#31,848
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abysmal”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abysmallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Addams” (#31,849), “Amar” (#31,852), “aorta” (#31,855). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abysmal” is #31,848. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around abysmal (IPA /əˈbɪz.məl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #31,848 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for abysmal, with forms such as "abbysmal", "absymal", and "abymsal". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From abysm + -al. Compare abyssal. The correct English form is abysmal, spelled A-B-Y-S-M-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss.
  2. 2
    Extremely bad; terrible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abysmal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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 19ᵗʰ century.]
  2. 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.

Etymology

From abysm + -al. Compare abyssal.

This word in other languages

abismal(Español)abyssal(Français)abgründig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbysmal
  • absymal
  • abymsal
  • abysaml
  • abysmall
  • abysmla
  • abysmmal
  • abyssmal
  • abyysmal
  • aybsmal
  • baysmal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abysmal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abbysmal1absymal2abymsal2abysaml2abysmall1abysmla2abysmmal1abyssmal1
Edit distance from "abysmal"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abysmal"?
"abysmal" is spelled A-B-Y-S-M-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɪz.məl/.
What does "abysmal" mean?
As an adjective, "abysmal" means: Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss.
What are common misspellings of "abysmal"?
Common misspellings include "abbysmal", "absymal", "abymsal", "abysaml", "abysmall". The correct spelling is "abysmal".
How do you pronounce "abysmal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abysmal" is /əˈbɪz.məl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abysmal"?
From abysm + -al. Compare abyssal. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abysmal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wyndham#31,838Batista#31,870Beowulf#31,872violins#31,821

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

ayatollah11 variantsThurman11 variantscasings11 variantssteeply11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list