quagmire

noun

quag·​mire ˈkwag-ˌmī(-ə)r  ˈkwäg- 

plural quagmires

1

: soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot

2

: a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament

Synonyms of quagmire

• predicament
• dilemma
• pickle
• swamp
• hole

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The dirt infield was a muddy quagmire, which drew the ire of the typically mild-mannered Bart Starr, then head coach of the Packers. — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026

But more than four years later, the invasion has turned into a quagmire that has crushed the Kremlin’s finances. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026

The easy explanation would be the president’s enmity toward Pope Leo XIV, who has preached a gospel of kindness toward the undocumented and spoken out against the quagmire in Iran. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

At heart, structures and incentives pull Washington back, repeatedly, to avoidable quagmires. — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quagmire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar

Kids Definition

quagmire

noun

quag·​mire ˈkwag-ˌmī(ə)r  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