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
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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 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
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
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At their best, superhero stories can be potent metaphors for tangible human dilemmas.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2026
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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,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Accessories should be minimal and delicate, to avoid any tangles mid-journey.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
14 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
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Rustin has slyly given her script a focus on women’s needs and feelings, a welcome departure for a genre that usually is more concerned about the men’s predicaments.—
Matthew J. Palm,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
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Sticky traps are available at garden centers and from online retailers.—
Jon VanZile,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
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As disturbing clues emerge and a shadowy figure traps Whitney in a deadly game of survival, mother and daughter are thrust onto parallel paths of terror.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Serve it with or without a bun plus your favorite toppings like pickles, slaw, and extra sauce.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
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Sook by Maydan is offering a $ 15-per-person Dine LA lunch menu with a choice of beef wrap or chicken shish taouk wrap, served with house pickles, labneh spread, and a farmers market side salad.—
Kaila Yu,
Forbes.com,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Curated by Aily Nash and Tyler Wilson, the latter program zoomed in on the myriad entanglements between the bodily and the virtual that are exacerbated by new technologies.—
Farren Fei Yuan,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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But the few lessons learned from January’s whirlwind, and indeed Trump’s previous entanglements with Iran, suggest his military options ahead in the Gulf are limited, and far from great.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The crab-eating frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) lives in mangroves, coastal swamps and estuaries across Southeast Asia.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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The bald cypress is native to much of the Gulf Coast and across riverine swamps of the Deep South.—
Connor Giffin,
Louisville Courier Journal,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The concern was because the final two holes were the most exposed on the course.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
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That process involves collecting acorns and then pecking small holes in trees where they are stored for winter use.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quagmires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmires. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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