marshy

[mahr-shee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR marshy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, marsh·i·er, marsh·i·est.

like a marsh; soft and wet; boggy.

pertaining to a marsh.

consisting of or constituting a marsh, bog, swamp, or the like.

Origin of marshy

First recorded in 1350–1400, marshy is from the Middle English word mershi. See marsh, -y¹

Related formsmarsh·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for marshy

soggy, miry, mucky, quaggy, boggy, fenny, paludal

Examples from the Web for marshy

Contemporary Examples of marshy

Apaches used what was once a marshy ciénaga as a water hole for centuries.
Big-Sky West Texas: A Road Trip Through Hidden America
Condé Nast Traveler
March 18, 2014

Historical Examples of marshy

The district was wild and marshy, with few signs of any inhabitants.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
All day we ride along the hills skirting the marshy plain of Huleh.
Out-of-Doors in the Holy Land
Henry Van Dyke
Alas, you are most often found along the marshy borders of the kingdom of the winds.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
Its back was to the slopes that rose by marshy terraces to the hills.
The Wild Geese
Stanley John Weyman
A marshy meadow had been selected by his forbears for colonization.
"Wee Tim'rous Beasties"
Douglas English

British Dictionary definitions for marshy

marshy

adjective marshier or marshiest

of, involving, or like a marsh

Derived Formsmarshiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for marshy

adj.

late 14c., from marsh + -y (2). Related: Marshiness.