abyss
abysmal
abyssal
An abyss (n) is a very deep or bottomless hole, sometimes used in reference to outer space. (In every Star Wars movie, there always seems to be a great, bottomless shaft over which characters much swing and into which villains must fall.) From it come two adjectives, one emotional, the other more general. Abysmal indicates an immeasurably deep, bottomless place or absolutely wretched. Abyssal on the other hand refers to an unspecific depth, and, frankly, sounds nicer. What is it about the m in abysmal that produces a wretched connotation? I like to think of it (perhaps inaccurately) as abyss + mal = depth, bad.
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