quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(-ə)r 
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
plural quagmires
1
: soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot
2
: a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament
Examples of quagmire in a Sentence
That was six months ago, when the Defense secretary laughingly dismissed the idea that Iraq was, or could turn into, a quagmire. But as Rumsfeld sat down last Friday morning to face Sen. John McCain, who spent six years in a Vietnamese prison, no one was laughing.
—
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
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
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2003
State involvement will create a vast bioethical quagmire. Even if everyone magically agrees that improving a child's memory is as valid as avoiding dyslexia, there will still be things taxpayers aren't ready to pay for—genes of unproven benefit, say, or alterations whose downsides may exceed the upside.
—Robert Wright, Time, 11 Jan.1999
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
a protracted custody dispute that became a judicial quagmire
Recent Examples on the Web
For his part, Trump seems utterly undeterred by this political quagmire.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 7 Apr. 2025
But Trump administration officials have touted the president’s proposal as an out-of-the-box suggestion to address a decades-long quagmire.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 11 Feb. 2025
This could substantially drive up the unemployment rate, putting the economy in a quagmire.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
But after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan devolved into quagmires, and amid an increasingly draconian security state and cascading failures at home — from Hurricane Katrina to the housing bubble — something shifted.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
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Philip Elliott, Time, 7 Apr. 2025
But Trump administration officials have touted the president’s proposal as an out-of-the-box suggestion to address a decades-long quagmire.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 11 Feb. 2025
This could substantially drive up the unemployment rate, putting the economy in a quagmire.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
But after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan devolved into quagmires, and amid an increasingly draconian security state and cascading failures at home — from Hurricane Katrina to the housing bubble — something shifted.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for quagmire
Cite this Entry
“Quagmire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quagmire. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quagmire
noun
quag·mire
ˈkwag-ˌmī(ə)r
ˈkwäg-
ˈkwäg-
1
: soft spongy wet ground that shakes or gives way under the foot
2
: a difficult situation from which it is hard to escape
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