abyssal
/əˈbɪs.l̩/
"abyssal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abyssal” is uncommon English (frequency #59,842 among 35,202 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #59,842
- frequency rank, English
- 35,202
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abyssal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈbɪs.l̩/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #59,842 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abyssal” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
abyssal is uncommon English at frequency #59,842 among 35,202 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /əˈbɪs.l̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for abyssal in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in the 1690s. From Medieval Latin abyssalis, from Latin abyssus (“abyss”) + -alis (“-al”). Equivalent to abyss + -al. The correct English form is abyssal, spelled A-B-Y-S-S-A-L.
Definition
- 1Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable.
- 2Of or belonging to the ocean depths, especially below 2000 metres (6500 ft): abyssal zone.
- 3Pertaining to or occurring at excessive depths in the earth's crust; plutonic.
- 4In the utter depths of despair; gloomy.
Etymology
First attested in the 1690s. From Medieval Latin abyssalis, from Latin abyssus (“abyss”) + -alis (“-al”). Equivalent to abyss + -al.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “abyssal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-Y-S-S-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈbɪs.l̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.