quagmire
Americannoun
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an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
-
a situation from which extrication is very difficult.
a quagmire of financial indebtedness.
- Synonyms:
- jam, scrape, quandary, dilemma, predicament
-
anything soft or flabby.
noun
-
a soft wet area of land that gives way under the feet; bog
-
an awkward, complex, or embarrassing situation
Other Word Forms
- quagmiry adjective
Etymology
Origin of quagmire
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For all his backroom skill, Tojo did not include the U.S., or a quagmire in China, in his calculations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
With a paucity of working capital and bank lending rates now exceeding 60%, both foreign and domestic firms are stuck in a quagmire.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
But this doesn't have to become an endless quagmire.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2025
Gill Pyrah, 70, said she was unable to move after "sinking" in a quagmire while walking her dog, Luna, on Lincoln's South Common.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2025
Anyway, probably no one is thinking about an appropriately weighty yet catchy phrase to call our quagmire right now.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
