1
as in marshes
spongy land saturated or partially covered with water
much of the land in that area is mire that cannot be developed
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2
as in dilemmas
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
an abused wife who was hopelessly stuck in a mire of emotional dependency
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in stains
to make dirty
the sight of the standard, which had emerged from the battle mangled and mired, still stirred the soldiers' hearts
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mires
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
Pretty bad is the stuff that mires a team in mediocrity.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mires
Noun
-
New York is built over marshes and creeks and glacial moraines that announce themselves in a storm.—
Eric Klinenberg,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In mid-April, MMCD staff will be working on foot and in the air across the Twin Cities, looking for trouble spots in marshes and wetlands.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Every interaction and plot twist in Jury Duty is carefully orchestrated to steer its unwitting star through a series of low-stakes moral dilemmas while hidden cameras capture his reactions.—
Angelina Mazza,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Such local sites focus on a small group of people who happened to live in a certain place at a certain time—and who, for that fleeting moment, came to stand in for the dilemmas of the nation at large.—
Beverly Gage,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What Sacks doesn’t get is that by financing and diplomatically supporting Israel, our country makes the crimes of the Israeli government possible, which stains America’s reputation in the world and drains our Treasury.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Every failure of the state now stains the turban as well as the uniform.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
From tackling the clutter that traps dust to cleaning out your gutters, a spring clean-up can make a meaningful difference in how your home feels.—
Alora Bopray,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
This continental collision gave rise to the Zagros Mountains, which push down on the Arabian plate in a way that has created a basin in Earth’s crust that traps hydrocarbons—hence, all that oil and gas.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In mid-April, MMCD staff will be working on foot and in the air across the Twin Cities, looking for trouble spots in marshes and wetlands.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Movement was more diffuse near wetlands and along the Caloosahatchee River.—
Eve Bohnett,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Journeys that used to take entire seasons were being covered in single episodes, characters survived predicaments that once meant surefire death, and previously relevant factors like supplies, infrastructure, and alliances no longer mattered.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Victorian novels made good use of the predicaments of second and third sons, who had to become ministers or soldiers or schemers, and daughters who needed to be married off according to age.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As the salmon blackens in a skillet, the spices awaken, encrusting the fish in peppery piquant.—
The Bon Appétit,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Wire pin or slicker brushes work best for dogs with long hair that tangles easily.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mires. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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