quagmire
Americannoun
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an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
-
a situation from which extrication is very difficult.
a quagmire of financial indebtedness.
- Synonyms:
- jam, scrape, quandary, dilemma, predicament
-
anything soft or flabby.
noun
-
a soft wet area of land that gives way under the feet; bog
-
an awkward, complex, or embarrassing situation
Other Word Forms
- quagmiry adjective
Etymology
Origin of quagmire
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.
That leaves the Southwest in a quagmire with uncertain repercussions while the river’s depleted reservoirs continue to decline.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026
With a paucity of working capital and bank lending rates now exceeding 60%, both foreign and domestic firms are stuck in a quagmire.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Meanwhile, the war in Iraq came to seem closer to a quagmire than he had predicted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
By my count, the last time was 2003 and the U.S. was embroiled in a Middle East quagmire.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2025
Anyway, probably no one is thinking about an appropriately weighty yet catchy phrase to call our quagmire right now.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
