gulf

Thân thiện

A small boat sails across the calm blue gulf toward a distant shore.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land: A "gulf" is a major coastal indentation, typically larger and more deeply recessed than a bay.
   • A deep, wide chasm or abyss: A "gulf" can refer to a vast, profound gap or hollow in the earth's surface.
   • A significant, often unbridgeable, disparity or separation: Figuratively, a "gulf" describes a wide difference in feeling, opinion, or understanding that creates distance between people or groups.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Geographical Feature):
  • The Gulf of Mexico is known for its warm waters.
  • Ships sailed into the Persian Gulf.
• Noun (Figurative Separation):
  • A gulf of misunderstanding separated the two communities.
  • There is a widening gulf between the rich and the poor.

Advanced Usage

• "to bridge the gulf": to reduce or overcome a major difference or separation.
  • The new policy aims to bridge the gulf between theory and practice.
• "a yawning gulf": emphasizes a vast and intimidating gap or difference.
  • A yawning gulf exists between their political ideologies.

Variants and Related Words

• Gulf (verb, archaic): To engulf or swallow up.
  • The old tales spoke of a monster that would gulf entire ships. (Note: This usage is very rare in modern English.)
• Gulfy (adjective): Full of gulfs or deep hollows. (Rare)

Synonyms

• Chasm: A deep fissure in the earth's surface; a profound difference.
• Abyss: A very deep gorge; a catastrophic situation or a profound depth of something.
• Disparity: A great difference, especially in economic or social contexts.
• Divide: A wide divergence between two groups, typically leading to conflict.

Related Phrases

• Gulf Stream: A specific, warm ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The Gulf Stream influences the climate of Western Europe.

Idioms

• A gulf fixed: An irreversible and permanent separation. (This phrase has biblical origins.)
  • After the betrayal, it was as if a gulf had been fixed between them.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a deep wide chasm
2. an unbridgeable disparity (as from a failure of understanding)
   • he felt a gulf between himself and his former friends
   • there is a vast disconnect between public opinion and federal policy
3. an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay

Từ đồng nghĩa

• disconnect
• disconnection