1
as in marshes
spongy land saturated or partially covered with water
be careful in the swamp, because alligators sometimes lurk there
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in pickles
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
with her credit cards maxed out, and the making of minimum payments a challenge, debt seemed to be an ever-deepening swamp
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in floods
to cover with a flood
the boat was swamped by the huge wave has been swamped with paperwork since she returned from vacation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in overwhelms
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
parents feeling swamped by work and family obligations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swamps
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
Much of that wildlife is concentrated within Corcovado National Park, 163-plus-square-miles of tropical forest, mangrove swamps, and beaches.
—Laura Kiniry, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026
The crab-eating frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) lives in mangroves, coastal swamps and estuaries across Southeast Asia.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bald cypress is native to much of the Gulf Coast and across riverine swamps of the Deep South.
—Connor Giffin, Louisville Courier Journal, 12 Jan. 2026
More is at stake than preserving the singular beauty of the sawgrass prairies of Everglades National Park or cypress swamps of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
—Amy Green, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
By gathering second- and thirdhand traces and elusive sources and data, historians have illuminated communities in the forests of the Kongo region, the deltas of West Africa, the mangroves of Cuba, and the swamps of the Carolinas.
—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Here rose swamps and ponds, enormous dark lakes and silver rivers that branched and ran like strands of mycelium.
—Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
They're found in freshwater swamps in Africa, from South Sudan to Zambia.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
Noun
But otherwise, the kids were free to roam around Iron River, playing football in their front yard and basketball on the playground, or cutting through woods and swamps.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 30 Jan. 2026
Much of that wildlife is concentrated within Corcovado National Park, 163-plus-square-miles of tropical forest, mangrove swamps, and beaches.
—Laura Kiniry, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026
The crab-eating frog (Fejervarya cancrivora) lives in mangroves, coastal swamps and estuaries across Southeast Asia.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The bald cypress is native to much of the Gulf Coast and across riverine swamps of the Deep South.
—Connor Giffin, Louisville Courier Journal, 12 Jan. 2026
More is at stake than preserving the singular beauty of the sawgrass prairies of Everglades National Park or cypress swamps of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
—Amy Green, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
By gathering second- and thirdhand traces and elusive sources and data, historians have illuminated communities in the forests of the Kongo region, the deltas of West Africa, the mangroves of Cuba, and the swamps of the Carolinas.
—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Here rose swamps and ponds, enormous dark lakes and silver rivers that branched and ran like strands of mycelium.
—Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
They're found in freshwater swamps in Africa, from South Sudan to Zambia.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swamps
Noun
-
An industrial landscape gives way to vast marshes spliced by curving waterways.—
Kara Newman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens In the coastal marshes of North Carolina, in a fictional town called Barkley Cove, lives Kya Clark.—
Amanda Favazza,
Southern Living,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The two whip up a lavish dip packed with cheese, greens and pickles, which add tang to cut through the indulgent creaminess.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Vinegar is everywhere these days, and not just in pickles and salad dressing.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The title floods the screen, in lavishly flowing script, a whopping 49 minutes into this 108-minute neo-noir, not far off the halfway mark.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Those missions are especially timely, given Chicago's unhoused population floods the system for shelter for a place to stay warm when temperatures plummet.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
For the characters, the love itself overwhelms every other consideration of feeling.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
What overwhelms her isn’t the wedding itself, but the realization that her lifelong role as Lexi’s default person is about to shift.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Ballona wetlands had just been designated a state ecological reserve in 2005, but at the time there was concern the area wouldn’t be managed properly.—
Susanne Rust
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Last Thursday, the city’s inland-wetlands commission voted 6-1 in favor of the developer, giving a green light for the project to move ahead.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Winning from behind is not sustainable, and the predicaments in which Chelsea have found themselves this week point to other problems.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Rustin has slyly given her script a focus on women’s needs and feelings, a welcome departure for a genre that usually is more concerned about the men’s predicaments.—
Matthew J. Palm,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Kyiv residents endure long daily blackouts as Russia devastates the power system, leaving tower block dwellers freezing in apartments with no heat or light.—
Derek Gatopoulos,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Exacerbating the problem, unpredictable rainfall cycling between drought and floods further devastates the region.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Instead of adding more junk to your drawers, these clever gadgets actually solve kitchen dilemmas we’re all faced with.—
Melanie Fincher,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
-
My book belongs to ongoing discussions that live in and outlive literary dilemmas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swamps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swamps. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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