abysmally en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/ (US)
- /əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Etymology tree English abysmal Middle English -ly English -ly English abysmally From abysmal + -ly.
Meanings
-
Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.
Am I alone in feeling smug (if slatternly) about the news that super-clean homes are a breeding ground for infection? Apparently, all that bleach is bad not just for germs but for children's immune systems, too, and paradoxically causes more disease than it prevents. Not round my gaff. Oh no. My standards of housekeeping are so abysmally low that my eldest daughter was three years old before she even developed a temperature.
2015 April 4, Judith Woods, “I knew it! Spring cleaning is bad for your family's health [print version: Vindicated at last! It's healthier to be a slatternly housewife, p. 28]”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2015:Abysmally ignorant
1879, George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most abysmally | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more abysmally | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Translations (2)
pt abismalmente (to an extreme degree) · pt abissalmente (to an extreme degree)