morass
Americannoun
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a tract of low, soft, wet ground.
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a marsh or bog.
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marshy ground.
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any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself; entanglement.
noun
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a tract of swampy low-lying land
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a disordered or muddled situation or circumstance, esp one that impedes progress
Etymology
Origin of morass
1645–55; < Dutch moeras, alteration (by association with moer marsh; cf. moor 1) of Middle Dutch maras < Old French mareis < Germanic. See marsh
Explanation
A morass is a mushy, muddy patch of ground that you might find in a bog. In other words, it's something you probably don't want to get stuck in. The noun morass comes from the Dutch word moeras, meaning "marsh" or "fen." More metaphorically, just like its synonyms mire and quagmire, morass refers to anything that bogs you down, overwhelms you, and hinders your progress — like red tape, for example. You might refer to a "political morass" when the government cannot seem to pass legislation. Whether a morass is physical or metaphorical, it's a sticky mess you'll most likely want to avoid.
Vocabulary lists containing morass
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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A Wrinkle in Time
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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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.
If California’s punitive morass of regulatory and litigious constraints on dredging were reformed, new technologies could make dredging more cost-effective than ever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
They predicted that the “process of sorting out refunds will likely take months and be a legal and bureaucratic morass in its own right.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 20, 2026
The path out of the morass isn’t readily apparent.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
If he has a vision, a way out of the morass, wouldn't it be an idea for him to articulate it?
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025
It had rained heavily the night before, and the road was a thick morass of mud.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
