quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(-ə)r 
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
plural quagmires
1
: soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot
2
: a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament
Examples of quagmire in a Sentence
That was six months ago, when the Defense secretary laughingly dismissed the idea that Iraq was, or could turn into, a quagmire. But as Rumsfeld sat down last Friday morning to face Sen. John McCain, who spent six years in a Vietnamese prison, no one was laughing.
—
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
the party was once again facing its quadrennial quagmire: the candidate sufficiently liberal to win the nomination would be too liberal for the general election
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
the party was once again facing its quadrennial quagmire: the candidate sufficiently liberal to win the nomination would be too liberal for the general election
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Recent Examples on the Web
Against this corporate financial quagmire, Wintour hasn’t made a complete mess of Vogue from a purely performance metric.
—Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Ultimately, there may be no way for Israel to escape its smart-bomb delusion—or another quagmire in the Middle East.
—Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
New manager Arne Slot navigated those waters, a personnel mess with Mohamed Salah’s contract quagmire and a brutal EPL schedule to clinch first with four games left.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Iran’s nuclear and military capacity has been reduced, its network of proxies largely smashed, the friendly Assad regime in Syria gone, a quagmire resulting from regime change in Tehran avoided.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
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Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Ultimately, there may be no way for Israel to escape its smart-bomb delusion—or another quagmire in the Middle East.
—Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
New manager Arne Slot navigated those waters, a personnel mess with Mohamed Salah’s contract quagmire and a brutal EPL schedule to clinch first with four games left.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Iran’s nuclear and military capacity has been reduced, its network of proxies largely smashed, the friendly Assad regime in Syria gone, a quagmire resulting from regime change in Tehran avoided.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quagmire. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(ə)r
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
1
: soft spongy wet ground that shakes or gives way under the foot
2
: a difficult situation from which it is hard to escape
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