quagmire

Meaning

Noun

1. A swampy, soggy area of ground.
2. (figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle.

Verb

To embroil (a person, etc.) in complexity or difficulty.

Synonyms

bog

marsh

morass

swamp

mire

quag

fen

mud

slough

wetland

moor

marshland

Moor

heath

quicksand

slack

sludge

snare

swale

swampland

trap

🪤

wetlands

scraw bog

slush

turf swamp

mudhole

bogland

impasse

muskeg

peat bog

peat moss

hag

quaking bog

moss-land

glade

bayou

Translations

moeras

Sumpf

pantano

marécage

marais

ciénaga

βάλτος

pantano

pântano

bourbier

pantà

palus

palude

drasland

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkwæɡ.maɪə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Recorded since 1579, from quag + mire. The sense “perilous, mixed up and troubled situation” has been recorded since 1775.
Alternatively, the word may apparently be a variation of the earlier quakemire, from quake + mire.