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
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
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
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Lead executives Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer will be dealing with far more pressing dilemmas on draft night and in the days that follow, but they’re also tasked with using the low-value pick to locate someone who can help Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets win immediately.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
9 June 2026
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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
Noun
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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
-
For dogs and cats, the Hertzko Double-Sided Dog and Cat Dematting Comb has teeth designed for intense tangles and matting.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Rather than bridging shortfalls, both Seattle and Washington now face more difficult fiscal predicaments, Joblon said.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
18 May 2026
-
The madman strategy is for not-crazy leaders caught in adverse predicaments.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Use Sticky Traps Keep the sticky traps out to monitor your success.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Other condiments that can be stored in the door compartments include pickles, olives, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, jam, peanut butter, and sauces like hot sauce.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
-
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
Noun
-
However, once Venus enters Leo, your intimate affairs and emotional entanglements get hotter, messier and impossible to ignore.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
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In other systems, media avoid particular partisan entanglements and present themselves to audiences as providers of neutral information to a nonaligned public.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Noun
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Its disaster response fleet includes boats, barges and helicopters that can transport team members and equipment through hard-to-reach areas including swamps and mountains after a disaster, according to Shannon Browning, the associate director of AT&T's Network Disaster Recovery team.—
Ayana Archie,
NPR,
4 June 2026
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Little creeks meandered from lake to lake and through patches of lush grassy meadows and swamps, while the trail followed the higher ground covered with spruce.—
Anton Money,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
These familiar, turbulent morasses of swirling droplets continue to stymie scientists.—
Joseph Howlett,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quagmires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmires. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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