abysmally Some countries are well run and others, abysmally so. The sentence says some countries and others are in the opposite condition in terms of their development. Is it right? My question is, ab

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Mark

abysmally Some countries are well run and others, abysmally so. The sentence says some countries and others are in the opposite condition in terms of their development. Is it right? My question is, abysmally means extremely. It makes no sense here. Thanks

Feb 1, 2019 4:36 AM

Answers · 8

Abysmally is an adverb, so it can modify either an adjective or a verb. When it modifies an adjective, it means "extremely (in a bad way)" "He was abysmally ugly and stupid." When it modifies a verb, it means "very badly." "She sings abysmally. Even the dog hates hearing her sing." "This country is run abysmally. All the citizens are poor and miserable." You were confused because you thought "abysmally" was modifying "well", but it was actually modifying "run," and REPLACING "well".

February 1, 2019

Hi, Mark. "Extremely badly", in this case. Check out this definition on Merriam-Webster's dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abysmal. I hope this helps. 😉 Regards.

February 1, 2019