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
Such interpretations help sustain a story that still feels like a reinterpretation of the original series, providing outlets for original thought in a quagmire of iteration.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 June 2026
SpaceX is, however, facing competition from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which is building a lander hat hews much closer to the simpler, Apollo-era lunar landers than the gargantuan, engineering quagmire that is Starship.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Some Israelis strongly supported the pullout, saying Israel needed to extract itself from a quagmire.
—Greg Myre, NPR, 10 June 2026
The president also does not want to be seen by voters as having dragged the United States into another costly Middle East quagmire.
—Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
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Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 June 2026
SpaceX is, however, facing competition from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which is building a lander hat hews much closer to the simpler, Apollo-era lunar landers than the gargantuan, engineering quagmire that is Starship.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Some Israelis strongly supported the pullout, saying Israel needed to extract itself from a quagmire.
—Greg Myre, NPR, 10 June 2026
The president also does not want to be seen by voters as having dragged the United States into another costly Middle East quagmire.
—Sam Metz, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quagmire. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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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