Definition of quagmirenext
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 One by one, Apple’s six senior leaders in the room voiced their discontent with the quagmire. Geoffrey Cain, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026 Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire? Michael Loria, USA Today, 9 May 2026 Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire? CBS News, 8 May 2026 Washington remains short of clear strategic gains, while a conflict once framed as limited is now dragging much of the world into a widening quagmire – with few, if any, coming out ahead. Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
  • Your talent for overcoming stage fright will help someone in a similar predicament today.
    USA TODAY, USA Today, 6 June 2026
  • The second was that, along with the platitudes about resilience, attendees were unusually honest about the Gulf’s predicament.
    Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 4 June 2026
Noun
  • Before 2014, bull kelp—a whip-like kelp with bulbous air bladders and trailing blades —stretched across Northern California’s coastline in dense tangles.
    Tatjana Baleta, Time, 28 May 2026
  • Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen rounded out the podium after a tangle of their own, marking the Briton’s highest finish for Ferrari and the Dutchman’s first podium of the season.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Noun
  • The regulation of our environment; the presence of chemicals both intentionally and unwittingly in our food, water, air, and land; the ecological fate of all living creatures, and of the earth itself—all these dilemmas and conundrums find urgent expression in Carson’s work.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
  • Now saddled with the moral dilemma of keeping the money or turning it in, the trio devises a simple plan.
    Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026
Noun
  • If that’s true, Rajoub had set a trap.
    Chris Jones, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026
  • That changed rapidly as Argentina flew out of the traps and picked apart their jaded opponents, going 2-0 up after 36 minutes, with the first goal a Messi penalty.
    Will Jeanes, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Noun
  • Note that pickles made with a salt brine, like Martha's Sour Pickles, are fermented foods, while those made quickly with vinegar are not.
    Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 6 June 2026
  • In an interview with The Mirror published on Thursday, May 21, royal author Andrew Lownie claimed that Fergie has found herself in a bit of a financial pickle and is begging the Firm for help.
    Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 4 June 2026
Noun
  • The massive language model is a morass of words connecting to other words.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
  • These elements and more could help move the needle on the nation’s housing morass.
    Alex Schwartz, The Conversation, 29 May 2026
Noun
  • Madonna hunts pheasant in the English countryside, Thomas Edison electrocutes an elephant, Harry Harlow conducts callous experiments on monkeys, and Jimmy Carter fends off a swamp rabbit attack.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • The Okefenokee swamp's prairies are vast, watery expanses dotted with floating islands and stands of cypress and other trees.
    AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 9 June 2026
Noun
  • There are reasons the 2026 Giants aren’t trapped in the same quicksand as the Mets, Phillies or Red Sox, and those reasons are encouraging.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Such fluidity also extends to Amrum itself, where the land and water ebb and flow into one another, forming mudflats and murky patches of quicksand.
    David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.

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