1
as in dilemmas
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in tangles
something that catches and holds
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quagmires
But this is the wrong time for political sideshows or ethical quagmires.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmires
Noun
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Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Jan. 2026
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The following is a breakdown of those questions and others, and the key personnel dilemmas that remain unsolved as the World Cup nears.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But the seven-member volunteer commission — long expected to take the reins from OPD’s federal overseers — still seems to be struggling to gain footing within Oakland’s complex bureaucratic tangles.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
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In the clip, the actress jumped into a pool in a string bikini and demonstrated how to get pesky tangles out of one’s hair with her brand’s Glossing Detangler.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Brooks’s screenplay makes ample space to dump praise upon its protagonist while bemoaning her many predicaments.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
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But this is just one of the many predicaments of writing memoir.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The report stated that an inspector went to the store to investigate and learned that managers were aware of a rodent problem and had traps beneath the shelves.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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For best results, install traps along walls, under appliances, and in other dark corners where mice are active and check the traps daily so mice don’t stay confined for long.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Working in batches if needed, arrange pickles in a single layer in air-fryer basket (do not overcrowd).—
Holly Riordan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Jan. 2026
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Along with the usual lettuce, tomato and mayo, the inaugural customer creation, introduced for a limited time in July 2025, dressed the brand’s staple burger patty and bun with American cheese, bacon, crispy onions, and pickles with golden onion rings and a smoky BBQ sauce.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For a guy who swore off foreign entanglements, Trump has the United States as tangled as a cheap fishing reel.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
9 Jan. 2026
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However, the property has been mired in various legal and financial entanglements including foreclosure threats.—
Stacy Perman,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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More is at stake than preserving the singular beauty of the sawgrass prairies of Everglades National Park or cypress swamps of the Big Cypress National Preserve.—
Amy Green,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
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By gathering second- and thirdhand traces and elusive sources and data, historians have illuminated communities in the forests of the Kongo region, the deltas of West Africa, the mangroves of Cuba, and the swamps of the Carolinas.—
Laurent Dubois,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Officers saw multiple bullet holes on the metal fence dividing the properties and shell casings in his backyard, the affidavit said.—
Sofia Saric,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Add a pass rusher with the first pick, a receiver in Round 2 and then spend heavily on patching holes in free agency.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quagmires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmires. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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