morass

[muh-ras]

noun

1. a tract of low, soft, wet ground.

2. a marsh or bog.

3. marshy ground.

4. any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself; entanglement.

morass

/ məˈræs /

noun

1. a tract of swampy low-lying land

2. a disordered or muddled situation or circumstance, esp one that impedes progress

Word History and Origins

Origin of morass¹

1645–55; < Dutch moeras, alteration (by association with moer marsh; moor ¹ ) of Middle Dutch maras < Old French mareis < Germanic. See marsh

Word History and Origins

Origin of morass¹

C17: from Dutch moeras, ultimately from Old French marais _marsh

Example Sentences

He described the tangle of lawyers, judges, and motions involved as a "procedural morass" with no simple answers.

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Samira Abdallah Bachir, 29, said she and her three young children had to climb down into the ditch to escape, negotiating the morass of bodies "so we wouldn't step on them".

Read more on Barron's

His second election in 2024 would have been less likely without the Russia morass.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Carney’s blueprint to lift Canada’s economy out of the current morass is set for unveiling next Tuesday, when the government presents its annual budget plan to lawmakers.

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That move would rescue Democrats from their shutdown morass, even as Republicans did the left’s dirty work—making real the left’s dream of ending the Senate’s best institutional check.

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Related Words

• chaos 
• quagmire 
• tangle