quagmire

/ˈkwægˌmaɪr/

/ˈkwægmaɪr/

Other forms: quagmires

A quagmire is a dangerous place, like the muddy shoreline of a pond. Because it's so hard to climb out of a quagmire, the word has also come to mean any difficult or sticky situation you find yourself in.

Long ago, quag was a synonym for "bog" or "marsh," a swampy area where water seems to sit instead of drain out. Mire is another word to describe such a place. As a verb mire means "stuck," like someone who's mired in quicksand or mired in work — both prevent you from going anywhere. In a quagmire, you get stuck physically — or, even more commonly, in a situation that is hard to escape because there is no easy solution.

Definitions of quagmire

1. noun

   a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
   synonyms: mire, morass, quag, slack

   type of:

   bog, peat bog

   wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel
2. noun

   a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
   synonyms: morass, plight, predicament, quandary

   types:

   care

   a cause for feeling concern

   box, corner

   a predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossible

   hot water

   a dangerous or distressing predicament

   type of:

   difficulty

   a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome