quagmire
8 synonyms for quagmire, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — An area of soft, wet, boggy ground that traps anything that steps into it.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use quagmire
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
a legal quagmire
sink into a quagmire
a political quagmire
Etymology
Formed from "quag" (a bog or marsh) plus "mire" (wet, muddy ground), first recorded in the late 1500s; the figurative "difficult situation" meaning followed roughly two centuries later.
Full origin of quagmire →Frequently asked questions
What does “quagmire” mean?
The word “quagmire” means an area of soft, wet, boggy ground that traps anything that steps into it. In plain terms, a literal muddy bog, or — much more commonly today — a messy, hard-to-escape situation.
How do you pronounce “quagmire”?
“Quagmire” is pronounced KWAG-meye-uh (/ˈkwæɡ.maɪɹ/ in IPA).
How do you use “quagmire” in a sentence?
Here is “quagmire” used in a sentence: “The trail turned into a quagmire after days of rain.”
What part of speech is “quagmire”?
“Quagmire” is a noun.
Where does the word “quagmire” come from?
The word “quagmire” dates back to around 1500. Formed from "quag" (a bog or marsh) plus "mire" (wet, muddy ground), first recorded in the late 1500s; the figurative "difficult situation" meaning followed roughly two centuries later.
How many meanings does “quagmire” have?
“Quagmire” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an area of soft, wet, boggy ground that traps anything that steps into it.
