How to Use abysmal in a Sentence

abysmal

adjective
Definition of abysmalnext
Synonyms for abysmalnext
  • They were living in abysmal ignorance.
  • There was one grocery store near the clinic, but the options for fresh produce were abysmal at best.
    — Jessica Jones, M.s., R.d.n., SELF, 18 Mar. 2021
  • Sadly, the writing here goes from bad to abysmal, and the performances get dragged down with it.
    — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2021
  • Set aside your personal views on the legislative merits—the process was abysmal.
    — Bill Cassidy, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2021
  • But the experiment was an abysmal failure in most other respects.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2021
  • Both at Fenway and Gillette, sightlines were abysmal from the vast majority of seats.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Feb. 2021
  • Kentucky's second-half rally and subsequent collapse overshadowed what was an abysmal start to the game.
    — Jon Hale, The Courier-Journal, 11 Mar. 2021
  • Though no bombs fell there in the early months of the war, there was little protection from the elements, and the sanitary conditions were abysmal.
    — Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
  • Meanwhile, the Ducks have been abysmal on offense, with no one averaging better than 0.50 points per game through the first quarter of the season . . .
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Feb. 2021
  • Through open records requests, parents like me finally uncovered that student performance was abysmal, with over 25% of high school students failing at least one class.
    — Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2021
  • The low wages and abysmal working conditions — hospitalization from overwork can be a badge of honor in Japan — have confounded the usual laws of the business world.
    — New York Times, 24 Feb. 2021
  • Peever isn’t the only student turning his abysmal living conditions at uni into viral TikTok fodder.
    — Daisy Schofield, refinery29.com, 9 Feb. 2021
  • The Kings’ defense, however, is abysmal, ranking last in defensive rating (120.3).
    — oregonlive, 4 Mar. 2021
  • 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 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 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
  • 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
  • Biden’s abysmal showing pushed him out of the presidential race.
    — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2024

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.

Last Updated: