1
as in predicament
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape 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

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2
as in tangle
something that catches and holds a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quagmire Turning into a quagmire, and with other Baldoni-leaning content creators and influencers publicly pushing back against their own subpoenas, that legal fishing expedition of sorts was cut short not long after by Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Willkie Farr & Gallagher lawyers. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025 After Wexner bought it, the vehicle sank into a quagmire of litigation over its provenance before things were resolved in 2016. Stayton Bonner, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2025 The Soviet Union was thus drawn into a long, costly quagmire that would contribute to its eventual collapse. Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025 But this is the wrong time for political sideshows or ethical quagmires. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
  • Dailey also described the incident that prompted his predicament.
    Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Funding predicament The CJA funding shortfall is a result of the continuing resolution that Congress approved in March, just hours before a looming shutdown, to fund the government through the end of September.
    Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • After spraying this before a braid takedown, my hair was visibly softer and easier to mange through tangles.
    Caché McClay, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Having the best brush for your dog will keep its coat free of tangles and might even prevent a big bill at the groomer’s.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • This dilemma was inspired during lockdown, when my flatmate was listening to the audiobook of Bleak House.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The National Gallery of London is hosting the first major exhibition of 18th-century painter Joseph Wright, whose works captured the moral dilemma of scientific progress at the dawn of the industrial age.
    Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Jacob plots to seduce his employers and gain an advantage from their industry connections, but unwittingly walks into a trap.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
  • By moving the economy up the value chain, Beijing hopes to escape the middle-income trap and cement its status as a self-reliant tech superpower.
    Shaoyu Yuan, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • As always, Guy has found himself in a pickle entirely of his own making.
    Lily Osler, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
  • In honor of National Pickle Day, the Oscar winner shared a throwback photo of himself smiling while holding up a jar of pickles — completely nude.
    Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 9 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Apart from the moral morass and human cost of America’s foreign military misadventures, there is the lasting economic damage of the wars of which Cheney was such an avid advocate.
    Ben Wedeman, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The melancholy truth is that things have sunk into a morass of demoralization and low standards, with journalism inhabiting the poverty sector among the disciplines, and this at a time when communications nationally and internationally have reached an apex of urgency and complexity.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • As officers continued the search, local Herb Yancy offered up his boat to help after Kraviec saw movement in the swamp.
    Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • After a brief debate, the group settles on the swamp.
    Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The trick works too on Dratch, who once feared monsters under her bed, and Oswalt, who jokes about quicksand being his biggest worry.
    Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The novel is set in 1984, but the plot keeps sliding backward into the sixties, in woozy reveries that engulf Zoyd like quicksand.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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