adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marshy
First recorded in 1350–1400, marshy is from the Middle English word mershi. See marsh, -y 1
Explanation
Marshy things are squishy, wet, and soft, like a marsh or a bog. After three days of rain, your backyard just might be too marshy to set up the volleyball net. Any area of ground that's waterlogged is marshy, like the marshy shore of a river or the low-lying marshy patch in the neighborhood dog park. Unless there's a drought, swamps and bogs and wetlands are always marshy, and water-loving plants grow happily in these areas. This adjective comes from marsh, which has a Germanic root, mari, that means "sea."
Vocabulary lists containing marshy
"Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol
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"The Legend of the Yakwawiak"
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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.
See Examples For:
It will occupy an area partly covered in a marshy oasis, or "vega," which acts as a natural sponge.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
For example, Olduvai Gorge Bed in Tanzania has been described as freshwater woodland and grassland, while the Upper Bed reflects drier woodlands and marshy areas.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2026
Lynn Boulton, the Sierra Club’s local conservation chair, walked along a dirt road to what was once a marshy alkali meadow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2025
The attack reportedly happened on an island called Barkaram, in a vast marshy region that was once covered by the waters of Lake Chad before its dramatic shrinking in recent decades.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2024
Its preferred terrain is damp and marshy, and it is often found near riverbanks, where it will amuse itself by pushing and tripping the unwary.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
From Nijmegen down to the Belgian border extends a marshy area which can be made marshier by flood water from two big canals which enclose it on the west and south.
From Time Magazine Archive
The land grew marshier, inlets appeared, and soon we traveled over the bridge to the island.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
After hours of searching, the woman was found in one of the deepest, marshiest areas of the preserve.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2022
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.
