quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(-ə)r 
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
plural quagmires
1
: soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot
2
: a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament
Synonyms
Examples of quagmire in a Sentence
That was six months ago, when the Defense secretary laughingly dismissed the idea that Iraq was, or could turn into, a quagmire. But as Rumsfeld sat down last Friday morning to face Sen. John McCain, who spent six years in a Vietnamese prison, no one was laughing.
—
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
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
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
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
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Recent Examples on the Web
The root of this strategic quagmire lies in the shifting sands of international politics and economics.
—Armstrong Williams, Orange County Register, 3 Feb. 2024
The British, however, relinquished the Mandate in May 1948 without ever implementing the partition, leaving behind a post-imperial quagmire amid a quickly hardening Cold War landscape.
—TIME, 1 Feb. 2024
This year, rain, and plenty of it, has reduced Burning Man and Black Rock City, the festival’s 70,000-strong temporary settlement, to a quagmire.
—Chris Stokel-Walker, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2023
There’s no clear path to doing what’s right in this quagmire, as audiences learn when the fate of the last person Almaz helped is revealed.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Feb. 2024
But the Palestinian militants are still fighting and could yet draw Israel into a long quagmire like past conflicts in Lebanon, former U.S. military officers and analysts say.
—Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
There is no immediate or even medium-term fix to this quagmire.
—Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Ukraine’s rich, black earth is soft, and with the frequent rains, the roads and fields become a quagmire.
—Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
For three decades, websites large and small have depended on search to help build their readership; now they’re caught in a philosophical quagmire.
—Longreads, 16 Feb. 2024
Armstrong Williams, Orange County Register, 3 Feb. 2024
The British, however, relinquished the Mandate in May 1948 without ever implementing the partition, leaving behind a post-imperial quagmire amid a quickly hardening Cold War landscape.
—TIME, 1 Feb. 2024
This year, rain, and plenty of it, has reduced Burning Man and Black Rock City, the festival’s 70,000-strong temporary settlement, to a quagmire.
—Chris Stokel-Walker, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2023
There’s no clear path to doing what’s right in this quagmire, as audiences learn when the fate of the last person Almaz helped is revealed.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Feb. 2024
But the Palestinian militants are still fighting and could yet draw Israel into a long quagmire like past conflicts in Lebanon, former U.S. military officers and analysts say.
—Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
There is no immediate or even medium-term fix to this quagmire.
—Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
Ukraine’s rich, black earth is soft, and with the frequent rains, the roads and fields become a quagmire.
—Carlotta Gall, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
For three decades, websites large and small have depended on search to help build their readership; now they’re caught in a philosophical quagmire.
—Longreads, 16 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quagmire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near quagmire
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quagmire. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(ə)r
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
1
: soft spongy wet ground that shakes or gives way under the foot
2
: a difficult situation from which it is hard to escape
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