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
This environmental quagmire has persisted for more than 20 years in this rural part of the state, where 72.4% of the population is Black and the median household income is $35,160, according to the latest census; one-third of residents live below the poverty line.
—
Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 1 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Hello From a French Village That Recalls the U.S. as a Staunch Ally
The program became a notorious quagmire, with bureaucratic tripwires and loan-servicing issues leading to a rejection rate as high as 99 percent for those who sought forgiveness.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025
However, some law professors and legal commentators say the Supreme Court helped create the legal quagmire that's unfolded by waffling over what the administration must do.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
The reasons for the ongoing bargaining quagmire since that contract expired in June 2021 are in dispute, but real issues remain.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 1 May 2025
Editors’ Picks Hello From a French Village That Recalls the U.S. as a Staunch Ally
The program became a notorious quagmire, with bureaucratic tripwires and loan-servicing issues leading to a rejection rate as high as 99 percent for those who sought forgiveness.
—Stacy Cowley, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025
However, some law professors and legal commentators say the Supreme Court helped create the legal quagmire that's unfolded by waffling over what the administration must do.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
The reasons for the ongoing bargaining quagmire since that contract expired in June 2021 are in dispute, but real issues remain.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quagmire
Noun
-
Sheriff Martinez could easily resolve this predicament of her own making.—
Pedro Rios,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 May 2025
-
The cops are making progress, the bikers are sharpening their shivs, the main duo’s relationship is being tested and Ray is dealing with his own family issues, while Manny is facing his own piercing predicament.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Other experimental drugs have targeted the tau tangles, a different protein that builds up inside nerve cells.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
30 May 2025
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Despite the sleek design of modern gadgets and the rise of wireless solutions, both businesses and consumers still live in a frustrating tangle of cables.—
Mark Vena,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Noun
-
Many of Cuomo’s mayoral race opponents have condemned the spending, saying the PAC gives him an unfair advantage in the race and poses an ethical dilemma since many of its contributors have city government business interests.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
27 May 2025
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Here are eight passages that capture the new pope’s thinking as a young scholar on leadership, authority and some of the church’s most pressing dilemmas.—
Ruth Graham,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
The bagless self-empty base can hold up to 60 days of dirt and debris, and HEPA filtration traps 99.97% of allergens.—
& John Mihaly,
PC Magazine,
27 May 2025
-
When Aliyar breaks a match inside a lock and traps 700 kids in the school playground, he is suspended for a week from school.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
With them, came pickles, tomato sauce and jammy eggs.—
Laurie Ochoa,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2025
-
The vibe is retro, the pickles are sharp, and there’s always something new on the specials board.—
Keyla Vasconcellos,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Attempting to sort that out has been a morass of long phone calls on hold and in-person trips seeking an appointment.—
Darius Tahir,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2025
-
The nearly $2T student loan morass is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with.—
Carlo Versano,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 May 2025
Noun
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In Louisiana, alligators live mostly along the state’s coastal marshes but also can be found in its canals, bayous, rivers and swamps.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
-
From swamp to salinity In Western Australia, sediment cores from the beds of Lake Aerodrome, Gastropod Lake and Prado Lake reveal how long-term drying can change the ecology of a region.—
Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe,
The Conversation,
20 May 2025
Noun
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However, these systems become organizational quicksand in volatile environments where exceptions become the rule.—
Nate Bennett,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
From sticky asphalt graves to dinosaur-eating quicksand, these sites reveal how nature sometimes sets its own snares, and how life—on a mass scale—meets its end.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quagmire. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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