1
as in predicament
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape the party was once again facing its quadrennial quagmire: the candidate sufficiently liberal to win the nomination would be too liberal for the general election

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2
as in tangle
something that catches and holds a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quagmire Turning into a quagmire, and with other Baldoni-leaning content creators and influencers publicly pushing back against their own subpoenas, that legal fishing expedition of sorts was cut short not long after by Lively’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Willkie Farr & Gallagher lawyers. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025 After Wexner bought it, the vehicle sank into a quagmire of litigation over its provenance before things were resolved in 2016. Stayton Bonner, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2025 The Soviet Union was thus drawn into a long, costly quagmire that would contribute to its eventual collapse. Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025 But this is the wrong time for political sideshows or ethical quagmires. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
  • As of this July, 58% of students who wrapped up college in the past year were still trying to find stable work, compared to 25% of millennials and Gen Xers who faced the same predicament.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Despite an abundance of resources to help with that, many sellers put themselves in a predicament from the start.
    Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • What is normal in the state of dementia, where connections are not being made, where tangle is all, objects take on a curious aspect, and where there is an unpleasant flavor to the hours?
    Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • In a yarn shop, a tangle of tariffs Sara Heckman’s shop Apricot Yarn & Supply sells yarn from around the world.
    Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The only way to understand the thought process of the most prominent founders is to inhabit that dilemma.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Fortunately, this is a dilemma with several solutions.
    Kat Boogaard, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Half of his power lies in his ability to explore outside the mold, pushing through reggaetón into dancehall and Latin trap without losing command of the audience.
    Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 22 Oct. 2025
  • In fact, every apparent breakdown has turned into a bear trap, sparking powerful reversals in the opposite direction.
    Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • It’s all put Indiana into a rather unique pickle.
    Dana O'Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The popular pickle sandwich is coming back to Jimmy John’s, and with more options.
    Helena Wegner, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The melancholy truth is that things have sunk into a morass of demoralization and low standards, with journalism inhabiting the poverty sector among the disciplines, and this at a time when communications nationally and internationally have reached an apex of urgency and complexity.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The 16-track project is a long time coming for Recoechi, a Chicago spitter who came up in the city’s open mic scene before falling into the morass of the streets for a time.
    Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The land was also covered by swamps and ponds, where animals lived, including deer, ducks and hogs.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
  • My candidacy is a symbol of the end of the weak-kneed, feckless Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell, and the spineless swamp jellyfish that are in the United States Senate representing the Republicans.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The trick works too on Dratch, who once feared monsters under her bed, and Oswalt, who jokes about quicksand being his biggest worry.
    Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The novel is set in 1984, but the plot keeps sliding backward into the sixties, in woozy reveries that engulf Zoyd like quicksand.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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