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; 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.
What’s Next: Scott Anderson, a fellow at Brookings Institution, says Europe sees the situation as a sticky morass.
From Barron's • Mar. 18, 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 risk of the high-speed approach is that the administration cuts corners and finds itself entangled in a protracted legal morass, legal and energy experts said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
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 dawned on me that a clearer trajectory through this morass would consist of zooming in from a bird’s-eye view to increasingly microscopic components.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
