quicksand

noun

ˈkwik-ˌsand How to pronounce quicksand (audio)
Definition of quicksandnext
as in trap
something that catches and holds mired in the quicksand of credit card debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 quicksand Such fluidity also extends to Amrum itself, where the land and water ebb and flow into one another, forming mudflats and murky patches of quicksand. — David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026 In our view, the only way to escape this play-in quicksand is to pick one of the three aforementioned paths. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026 And maybe that's how to escape the loyalty quicksand. — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2026 And yet those tracks are laid on quicksand. — David M. Drucker, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quicksand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quicksand
  1. trap
  2. tangle
  3. quagmire
  4. labyrinth
  5. morass
  6. maze
  7. web
  8. entanglement
Noun
  • The trap is that the most tempting move an owner could make with this data is some form of monetization.
    — Sandy Carter, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • For them, character not only exists but functions as a compound, a cell, a trap.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of trap
Noun
  • In the nearly 3,000 patients who donated their brains to science, the brains of those who took estrogen were less likely to show neurobiological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, such as beta-amyloid plaques or tangles of tau protein.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
  • It can be set up in under a minute without a tangle of wires to trip over.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of tangle
Noun
  • At heart, structures and incentives pull Washington back, repeatedly, to avoidable quagmires.
    — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Take Cincinnati lawyer Phil Pitzer, who took advantage of a long and frankly very sad legal quagmire to obtain the sequel rights toEasy Rider in the early 2010s.
    — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of quagmire
Noun
  • Carmen receives them with love and displays them in that labyrinth of Cuban-ness, as colorful and sometimes as moving as the nation’s history and its exile.
    — Sarah Moreno August 7, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026
  • For its part, the Westmoreland Museum of Art utilized its partnership with Art Bridges to develop the Art Maze, an interactive installation that transformed the museum’s Cantilever Galleries into a navigable labyrinth painted by local artists.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of labyrinth
Noun
  • The solution for all of this is the same that one that helped the NBA out of its morass two decades ago.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • There is also crypto tax software that can help investors sort through the tax morass, Walter said.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of morass
Noun
  • In the Old City, Jewish men in black hats and tzitzit tassels, Muslim women in hijabs and Christian priests in flowing robes walk past each other daily in the maze of stone alleyways.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Inside, the moodily-lit, maze-like dining room seats 500, and also includes a gift shop, on-site brewery, and attached pizza and sushi restaurants.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of maze
Noun
  • Jurin keeps working after the conversation ends—across phone, email, web chat and LINE, the messaging app used by the vast majority of Japan’s population—connecting plain language to the software that acts.
    — Jurin AI Contributor, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • There appears to be no indication the scammer or scammers behind this web of deception are anywhere close to slowing down.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of web
Noun
  • His trailblazing act had been reduced to a joyless recitation of his legal entanglements.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Trump strode into office for a second term vowing to avoid lengthy and expensive military entanglements.
    — Konstantin Toropin, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of entanglement

Browse Nearby Words

quicks
quicksand
quicksands
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Cite this Entry

“Quicksand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quicksand. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on quicksand

Nglish: Translation of quicksand for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about quicksand

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