quagmire
UK /ˈkwæɡ.maɪə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈkwæɡ.maɪɹ/ noun, verb
Forms quagmires quagmiring quagmired
- noun A swampy, soggy area of ground. “That quagmire regularly ‘swallows’ caught-up hikers’ boots”
- noun (figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle. “The paperwork got lost in a quagmire of bureaucracy.”
- verb (transitive) To embroil (a person, etc.) in complexity or difficulty.
Synonyms
marsh marshland mire quag predicament ass in a sling bind bucket of syrup calvary cauldron cross cross to bear difficulty dilemma dire straits doghouse fix hole jam kettle morass slack
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.
Compare typologically Bulgarian тресавище (tresavište), Polish trzęsawisko, Russian тряси́на (trjasína) (akin to трясти́ (trjastí)); зыбь (zybʹ), зыбу́н (zybún) (<… Proto-Slavic *zybь).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Soft, wet, miry land, which shakes or yields under the feet. "A spot surrounded by quagmires, which rendered it difficult of access." Palfrey.
Etymology [Quake + mire.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “quagmire”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details