Thesaurus results for QUAGMIRES

quagmires

noun

plural of quagmire

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

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as in tangles

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 quagmires At heart, structures and incentives pull Washington back, repeatedly, to avoidable quagmires. — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2026 Jeane used the example not to say that any of the three were in danger of closing, but to point out one of the enrollment quagmires in the district that covers 70 square miles. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2026 Despite a few diversions along the way, Minney keeps returning to craft as a solution to fashion’s many quagmires. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2026 But these occupations soon became bloody quagmires, with hundreds of military and tens of thousands of civilian casualties. — Mo Rocca, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026 But this is the wrong time for political sideshows or ethical quagmires. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmires

Noun

Like the genre itself, the final season’s lingering dilemmas aren’t unheard of, but the way they’re explored is unique, creative, and insightful.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
The show also posed sci-fi ideas, such as the potential dilemmas of time travel and encountering new and strange life forms.

— Mandalit del Barco, NPR, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of dilemmas

Noun

Sazan is a rugged place—strewn with rocks and tangles of trees, populated by a large colony of rats, and studded with bunkers built by the Marxist dictator Enver Hoxha to defend against an imaginary invasion.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Alice and her old friend Danny (Scoot McNairy, outstanding, like everyone else), who is still a New York cop, work through professional and personal tangles.

— Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of tangles

Noun

On the screen, in a series of daredevil adventures, the actor had extricated himself from a hundred impossible predicaments.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Aemond, too, for that matter, while Daemon’s arrogance continues to get Team Black into all sorts of predicaments.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of predicaments

Noun

Governments in the region launched a massive response, including traps, sniffer dogs, drone surveillance and most importantly, sterile flies.

— Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
The direct heat helps re-crisp the bottom of the crust, while the lid traps heat, so the cheese and toppings warm through without the crust becoming excessively dry.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of traps

Noun

Its chicken salad scoop options include the Olivia’s Old South (sweet pickles and egg), Jalapeño Holly (with jalapeños), Nutty Nanna (with pecans and cashews), and Barbie Q.

— Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
Fried potato and cheese pierogies topped with brisket, masala barbecue, pickles, street corn and more.

— Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of pickles

Noun

Cassidy Teufel, deputy director at the coastal commission, said during a review of the project that seaweed farms use taut, rigid lines, not the loose fishing lines that are a leading cause of whale entanglements.

— Amy Taxin, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
The film concerns a bus full of French high-school seniors on a trip to Pompeii, where the long gaze of history meets their hormonal entanglements and a bunch of Freudian desire.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of entanglements

Noun

Stories — real or not — circulated in the 19th and early 20th centuries of White people using Black children as bait while hunting in Florida’s swamps.

— Matt Baker, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Black rat snakes occupy an expansive range of habitats, from swamps and marshes to forests and fields.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of swamps

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“Quagmires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmires. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of quagmires

noun

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