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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Recent Examples of quagmire
After promising not to, Trump plunged us into another military quagmire.
—
John Seiler, Oc Register, 23 June 2025
Here the film, like Clémence’s life, forks into two: One part of her carries on her professional, personal and romantic life, the other takes on the near-full-time job of fighting through a legal quagmire to have her maternal rights restored.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 May 2025
Chase Sui Wonders has been lobbying for Kristen Stewart, suggesting a plot about identity politics as a quagmire for her character and Stewart to get into.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2025
Hamas provoked the Israelis into a quagmire in Gaza by brutally raping and murdering young concertgoers and kidnapping families from their kibbutzes.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
John Seiler, Oc Register, 23 June 2025
Here the film, like Clémence’s life, forks into two: One part of her carries on her professional, personal and romantic life, the other takes on the near-full-time job of fighting through a legal quagmire to have her maternal rights restored.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 May 2025
Chase Sui Wonders has been lobbying for Kristen Stewart, suggesting a plot about identity politics as a quagmire for her character and Stewart to get into.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2025
Hamas provoked the Israelis into a quagmire in Gaza by brutally raping and murdering young concertgoers and kidnapping families from their kibbutzes.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
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After announcing their predicament on social media on June 13, fans rallied support.—
Bahar Anooshahr,
AZCentral.com,
24 July 2025
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Luckily, Wayfair solved this predicament with its new apartment storefront, packed with storage solutions for living in a small space.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
People.com,
19 July 2025
Noun
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This creates abnormal amounts of protein deposits called tangles, which kill brain cells.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
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Lying nearby is a tangle of thin string that is defining the war now – not fishing net, but fiber-optic cable, used to prevent drones being jammed.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
29 July 2025
Noun
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The time to plant fall vegetable crops is just around the corner, which often poses a dilemma for gardeners.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
25 July 2025
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There are many reasons professional golfers have found themselves in need of a win, but few have encountered the dilemma Max Homa currently faces.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Undervaluing Yourself To Avoid Conflict Many professionals, especially those early in their careers, fall into the trap of lowballing their worth out of fear.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
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That’s the trap with a character like this — writing to a joke versus writing to her worldview and her attitude.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
24 July 2025
Noun
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Boca Raton resident Pam Duhamel, who is originally from London, purchases a can of Heinz baked beans, marmite (a yeast extract used as a flavoring), a bottle of Branston squeezable pickle, and a container of Coleman’s mustard.—
Ron Hurtibise,
Sun Sentinel,
19 July 2025
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Sweet pickles: Varieties like bread-and-butter pickles have sugar and vinegar in the brine, which help to preserve them.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
18 July 2025
Noun
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As for Pitt, his Sonny Hayes is a perfectly serviceable archetype for this: a one-time wunderkind driver wrecked by injury whose adult life becomes a morass of preposterous risk with minimal upside.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
20 June 2025
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There are no pairs of tidily poetic contradictions, but a morass of inner conflict, uncertainty, pain, and relief.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Sinking deeper and deeper into the thick swamp, the exhausted animal was fighting for survival.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
30 July 2025
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It’s estimated 12,000 alligators live in the swamp, the park says.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Some have likened this to building a skyscraper on quicksand.—
Alexander Sudeykin,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
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These moves chip away at the 188,000 pages bloating the Code of Federal Regulations, freeing businesses and families from bureaucratic quicksand.—
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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