How to Use abysmal in a Sentence

abysmal

adjective
  • They were living in abysmal ignorance.
  • The rest of the team was abysmal trying to score there.
    — Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2024
  • In the early nineties, the state of the coffee bean was abysmal.
    — D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
  • The Colts are abysmal right now and will start Sam Ehlinger in this one.
    — Richard Morin, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2023
  • In terms of the turnover battle, Auburn was abysmal last fall.
    — Ainslie Lee | Alee@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2023
  • In Wednesday’s loss to Iowa State, the Frogs shot an abysmal 6-18 from the free throw line.
    — Dallas News, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Iowa State is abysmal at the free-throw line, shooting 69.9%.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2024
  • Despite the abysmal start to the season, the Marlins have some hope.
    — Ethan Mannello, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
  • This year has been great for games but abysmal for the people who make them.
    — Ash Parrish, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Kentucky was well on its way to an abysmal 9-16 record.
    — Jon Hale, The Courier-Journal, 30 Apr. 2022
  • As far as the scores themselves, the movie has an abysmal 26% critics score.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 2 Sep. 2021
  • The Bears were so abysmal for much of the first half that the Buccaneers went for it on fourth-and-1 – from their own 19.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 9 Oct. 2020
  • Starting three guys who can’t shoot the three sounds like an abysmal fit. -- Kyle.
    — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, 28 Nov. 2019
  • The Bears can’t erase last week’s abysmal performance in a 10-3 loss to the Packers.
    — Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 14 Sep. 2019
  • The food was abysmal; Muslims were denied the right to worship and were fed pork.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2021
  • But the homicide clearance rate is abysmal – about 50%.
    — Suzette Hackney, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024
  • The chances of a playoff berth, even in the abysmal NFC East, dwindle with each and every snap.
    — John Owning, Dallas News, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Arsenal's away form for much of the second half of the season was abysmal to say the least.
    — SI.com, 22 May 2018
  • The sound system blares hits of the 1980s, from the resplendent (Tina Turner) to the abysmal (Tom Petty).
    — Jenn Shapland, New York Times, 25 July 2023
  • The Saints ended the abysmal 3-13 season with a league plan to return the team to the Superdome.
    — Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Sep. 2021
  • Industry sources tell me the numbers are abysmal for the 2-to-11 age group.
    — Michael O’Rielly, WSJ, 20 June 2018
  • The outcomes are even more abysmal when broken down by race.
    — Cathrin Stickney, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2022
  • With that abysmal performance behind them, the C’s should bounce back in front of the home crowd this evening.
    — Alex Kay, Forbes, 8 June 2022
  • The awards honor what the Razzies group deem are the most abysmal films and performances of 2021.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2022
  • After a year of scandal and abysmal press, its share price is just shy of record highs.
    — The Economist, 18 July 2019
  • The cocky Red Sox failed to prepare in Florida and got off to an abysmal start.
    — Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2020
  • Their picks have been better the last couple of years after a half-decade of abysmal drafts.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Their rates, according to over a dozen sources, are abysmal.
    — Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 19 Oct. 2021
  • However, his abysmal start to the year – he’s typically flailed over the first month, though not this much – has left fans begging for Luke Weaver’s return to the closer’s role.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Grapevine started the season with an abysmal 1-6-3 record but kept finding small victories, and soon, the Mustangs started to see improvement.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abysmal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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