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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Recent Examples of quagmire
Vietnam is a wound for many Americans: a bloody quagmire, a blot on our conscience, a war that claimed more than 58,000 American lives and shattered faith at home in the good intentions of the government.
—
Leo Tran, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025
After 19 months of war in Gaza, the Israeli government has decided to march deeper into the quagmire.
—Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
This environmental quagmire has persisted for more than 20 years in this rural part of the state, where 72.4% of the population is Black and the median household income is $35,160, according to the latest census; one-third of residents live below the poverty line.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 1 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Hello From a French Village That Recalls the U.S. as a Staunch Ally
The program became a notorious quagmire, with bureaucratic tripwires and loan-servicing issues leading to a rejection rate as high as 99 percent for those who sought forgiveness.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Leo Tran, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025
After 19 months of war in Gaza, the Israeli government has decided to march deeper into the quagmire.
—Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
This environmental quagmire has persisted for more than 20 years in this rural part of the state, where 72.4% of the population is Black and the median household income is $35,160, according to the latest census; one-third of residents live below the poverty line.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 1 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Hello From a French Village That Recalls the U.S. as a Staunch Ally
The program became a notorious quagmire, with bureaucratic tripwires and loan-servicing issues leading to a rejection rate as high as 99 percent for those who sought forgiveness.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
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In fact, the predicament of Enphase Energy illustrates the risks of heavily investing in a single stock.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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Two boaters were rescued from a treacherous predicament on a raging river in Maryland, officials said.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Other experimental drugs have targeted the tau tangles, a different protein that builds up inside nerve cells.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
30 May 2025
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Despite the sleek design of modern gadgets and the rise of wireless solutions, both businesses and consumers still live in a frustrating tangle of cables.—
Mark Vena,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Lee’s version stars frequent collaborator Denzel Washington as a music mogul who becomes the target of a ransom demand that forces him into a moral dilemma, between life and death.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
6 June 2025
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According to my company's Prescription Habits Report, 48% of those over 55 have been forced to choose between their medications and essential bills, while 45% of adults aged 35 to 54 face the same dilemma.—
Alexandra Robertson,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
Noun
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During their surveys, researchers set up mist nets of various sizes and waited to see what flew into the traps, the study said.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2025
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Mazzotti said iguanas love the color red — biologists often lure them into traps with red flowers, strawberries or even red marbles.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Bake a tray of chicken tenders (store-bought or homemade), set out flour tortillas, and offer a few sauces, pickles, and shredded lettuce.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 June 2025
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Its menu includes the 8oz Trump Cheeseburger and the 16oz Trump Tower, both with fries, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Trump Sauce.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Florence illustrates the potential of the agentic AI approach when confronting the bureaucratic morass.—
Ray Ravaglia,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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With the Swiss army closely monitoring the situation, flooding worsened during the day as vast mounds of debris almost two kilometers across clogged the path of the River Lonza, causing a huge lake to form amid the wreckage and raising fears that the morass could dislodge.—
Dave Graham,
Christian Science Monitor,
29 May 2025
Noun
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In Louisiana, alligators live mostly along the state’s coastal marshes but also can be found in its canals, bayous, rivers and swamps.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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From swamp to salinity In Western Australia, sediment cores from the beds of Lake Aerodrome, Gastropod Lake and Prado Lake reveal how long-term drying can change the ecology of a region.—
Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe,
The Conversation,
20 May 2025
Noun
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However, these systems become organizational quicksand in volatile environments where exceptions become the rule.—
Nate Bennett,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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From sticky asphalt graves to dinosaur-eating quicksand, these sites reveal how nature sometimes sets its own snares, and how life—on a mass scale—meets its end.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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