What's the difference between abysmal and dismal?

Abysmal


Definition:

  • (a.) Pertaining to, or resembling, an abyss; bottomless; unending; profound.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "As a stylist Brown gets better and better: where once he was abysmal he is now just very poor," wrote Jake Kerridge in the Daily Telegraph .
  • (2) In fact, the general standard of new architecture here is, sadly, abysmal.
  • (3) That the host defenses may be somewhat enhanced by pregnancy while susceptibility to certain diseases is increased is paradoxical and serves to underscore the fact that our understanding of host defense in pregnancy is abysmally deficient.
  • (4) Even with no strikes, Southern’s public performance measures remain abysmal by most standards, with only 70% of trains running to within five minutes of their advertised time on Tuesday.
  • (5) Richard Di Natale, the Greens leader and Victorian senator, said it was likely the final make-up of the Senate would not be known for weeks, but that the result, already, had been an “abysmal failure” for the government.
  • (6) "Please ignore the abysmal example set by President Obama who, in the name of Thanksgiving, supports torture as 45 million birds are horrifically abused; dragged through electrified stun baths, and then have their throats slit.
  • (7) "This law has the potential to make Afghanistan an absolute abysmal catastrophe as it relates to public order, rule of law and general common decency."
  • (8) Newcastle’s manager responded by replacing Yoan Gouffran, abysmal in central midfield, with Emmanuel Rivière as he switched from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2.
  • (9) A second delivery review team visit in September was told by Lorenzo's deputy head of testing that test results were "abysmal".
  • (10) That public policy has abysmally failed the chronically mentally ill seems beyond genuine dispute.
  • (11) The abysmal condition of nutrition in India, both undernutrition and overnutrition , has crept into the global development agenda recently, with increasing focus from academics, policymakers and activists.
  • (12) That first half was abysmal, a complete disgrace, but this is much improved fare.
  • (13) And given the abysmal farce of the AV referendum, the very last people to listen to on the timing and terms of a referendum would be the Lib Dems."
  • (14) The whole French team, their coac h, Raymond Domenech, and the French football federation are just abysmally stupid.
  • (15) The criticism reached a crescendo in January when the BBC's Inside Out broadcast a report claiming the wages being paid to workers at Kibale were 'abysmal' and that viewers would do better to reduce their own carbon emissions than to buy offsets.
  • (16) Even with several office jobs and internships under my belt, my job prospects looked abysmal.
  • (17) To allow someone into the UK who is explicitly promoting these things is abysmal.” A social media campaign against Blanc has gathered pace in recent days, with Twitter users sharing pictures of him with his hand around the throats of women that he has shared using the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld.
  • (18) Despite monumental pent-up demand for more housing in London, there isn’t enough being built – and because the volume house builders don’t care about architecture, community life or civic space, the quality of new housing is generally abysmal.
  • (19) So while it might have other merits, it is surely wrong for TfL to issue a blank cheque, particularly given the financial pressures they face from the chancellor.” Authors, architects and artists line up to lambast ‘abysmal’ garden bridge plan Read more Peck also cited Khan’s lack of support for the bridge between Temple and the South Bank.
  • (20) To this extent, Khomeini's edict and the murderous campaign it engendered failed abysmally.

Dismal


Definition:

  • (a.) Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky.
  • (a.) Gloomy to the eye or ear; sorrowful and depressing to the feelings; foreboding; cheerless; dull; dreary; as, a dismal outlook; dismal stories; a dismal place.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Arsenal’s 10 men fall at the first hurdle against Dinamo Zagreb Read more This win, even against such feeble opponents, was celebrated, with the locals chorusing their manager’s name amid a wave of relief given so much of the team’s domestic campaign to date has been dismal.
  • (2) Massive pay packets are being used to lure foreign coaches and players from footballing nations such as Brazil in order to beautify the still dismal Chinese game.
  • (3) Trump and Hillary Clinton’s dismal honesty ratings, he says, show scrutiny is working.
  • (4) Chris Williamson, of data provider Markit, said: "A batch of dismal data and a gloomier assessment of the economic outlook has cast a further dark cloud over the UK's economic health, piling pressure on the government to review its fiscal policy and growth strategy.
  • (5) Referencing these dismal truths on the website Race Files , Soya Jung criticised Chua and Rubenfeld for "buying into exceptionalist arguments to explain disparities means endorsing a dehumanising system of racialised norms".
  • (6) We will have another financial shock – it’s inevitable.” Gary Greenwood, analyst at Shore Capital, described the results as “dismal” and noted the bank was ditching targets previously set to measure returns to shareholders.
  • (7) Henderson completed 77 minutes during a dismal goalless draw, secured on a semi-frozen pitch, to hand Klopp some welcome injury news following the England midfielder’s extended absence because of a heel problem.
  • (8) It might be doing even better if it had not been deliberately mischaracterised as a demand for a ban by typically dismal feminists, rather than an effort to persuade the Sun that a woman's bra size is not the most interesting fact about her.
  • (9) But it's a dismal prospect, for this is how our politics of hope continues to manifest itself – vote for us; we're the least worst.
  • (10) Some of these measures appeared to be lifted over the weekend, but as thousands trudged or bussed their way towards Austria and then Germany, the dismal scenes in Hungary will stain one administration’s human rights record – and perhaps the reputation of a nation.
  • (11) Griffiths replaced Nadir Ciftci for the start of the second half after a dismal first 45 minutes from the home side and Ronny Deila’s men continued to struggle, with Bitton sent off in the 67th minute after picking up his second yellow card.
  • (12) The UK's weather seems set on squandering one of its last chances to make amends for the largely dismal summer by threatening wind and rain for the event-packed bank holiday weekend.
  • (13) Following United's dismal 2-0 Champions League defeat at Oympiakos on Tuesday, Van Persie signalled his disquiet by complaining that his team-mates were taking up positions he wanted to occupy.
  • (14) Except for the palliative effect of irradiation, most treatment protocols have not altered the dismal median survival of approximately 11 months seen in untreated patients with malignant mesothelioma.
  • (15) They fought back and, in a rare uplifting moment in these dismal times, won.
  • (16) Primary pulmonary hypertension is a relatively rare disease with a poorly understood pathophysiology, limited therapeutic options, and a dismal prognosis.
  • (17) The pernicious nature of this tumor often leads to a dismal outcome despite aggressive therapy.
  • (18) Nonoperative treatment deserves re-evaluation in patients with all three risk factors because of their uniformly dismal outcome after operation.
  • (19) The third goal represented another dismal concession from Leicester’s point of view.
  • (20) The introduction of planned multidisciplinary treatment has improved the outlook for patients with this once dismal disease.