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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quagmire
The reasons for the ongoing bargaining quagmire since that contract expired in June 2021 are in dispute, but real issues remain.
—
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
This is not a bureaucratic quagmire or a FEMA-like situation.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2025
At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, heavy rains—likely influenced by the volcanic disruptions—turned the battlefield into a muddy quagmire, delaying Napoleon's attacks and aiding the Allied forces' eventual victory.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
For his part, Trump seems utterly undeterred by this political quagmire.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
This is not a bureaucratic quagmire or a FEMA-like situation.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2025
At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, heavy rains—likely influenced by the volcanic disruptions—turned the battlefield into a muddy quagmire, delaying Napoleon's attacks and aiding the Allied forces' eventual victory.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
For his part, Trump seems utterly undeterred by this political quagmire.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
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Fey lays out a number of ways to deal with this predicament.—
Belinda Luscombe,
Time,
9 May 2025
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So their only way out of this predicament is also the hardest — trading the star who elevated the team for a decade.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
Noun
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Long story short, the uncontrolled airflow of a standard blow dryer can create tangles galore on loose to tight curl patterns while the nozzle detachment used to create a smooth blowout effect does away with curls entirely.—
Georgia Day,
Vogue,
14 May 2025
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Before Carrier’s tangle of fraudulent loans collapsed and was exposed in court, there were signs of trouble.—
Anjeanette Damon,
ProPublica,
13 May 2025
Noun
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The National Women’s Soccer League, which raised its media rights fees nearly 60 times over with a series of deals that kicked off in 2024, finds itself in a similar dilemma.—
Justin Birnbaum,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., avoided addressing the dilemma with reporters on Wednesday.—
Claudia Grisales,
NPR,
14 May 2025
Noun
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So organizations often fall into the trap of title inflation to retain or attract talent, which breeds entitlement, short-term thinking and cultures that don't support employees' well-being.—
Tonushree Mondal,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
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Set traps: Place traps in the garage to catch any rodents that get in.—
Evan Moore,
Charlotte Observer,
13 May 2025
Noun
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The salt, fat and juice smother the pickles and mustard, snuffing out the vinegar and tang.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2025
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At one point during the game, Ottawa had packets of mustard and pickle juice on the bench, according to rinkside reporter Kelly Greig.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
Noun
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What happened next has become a matter of intrigue and resulted in a sprawling legal morass that has consumed Hollywood and sparked intense public interest.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2025
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And then, in 2010, Inna died without any children or a will, leaving behind a morass of 20,000 books, manuscripts, files and correspondence in their cluttered Bronx apartment.—
Joseph Berger,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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My Dien is a hurried cluster that has grown up ad hoc, with buildings of varying sizes rising like reeds from a fertile swamp.—
Damien Cave,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
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To fight an elusive enemy operating clandestinely at night and from hideouts deep in swamps and jungles, the U.S. military turned to environmental modification technologies.—
Pamela McElwee,
The Conversation,
28 Apr. 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 23 May. 2025.
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