quagmire en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkwɒɡ.maɪə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈkwæɡ.maɪə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkwæɡ.maɪɹ/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈkwæɡ.mɑɪə(ɹ)/ (Australia)
- /ˈkwɔɡ.mɑɪə(ɹ)/ (Australia)
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).
Meanings
-
A swampy, soggy area of ground.
Never did I see a more dreary and depressing scene. Miles on miles of quagmire, varied only by bright green strips of comparatively solid ground, and by deep and sullen pools fringed with tall rushes, in which the bitterns boomed and the frogs croaked incessantly: miles on miles of it without a break, unless the fever fog can be called a break.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:That quagmire regularly ‘swallows’ caught-up hikers’ boots
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(figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle.
Those election results are a quagmire for any coalition except one of national union.
"And what was this, my beloved brother, but a vain yielding to unbridled imagination, which, like a spring confined to one spot, collects its pure clear waters, and in at once a beauty and a blessing; but which, allowed to spread abroad in every direction, oozes through the marshy earth, becomes stagnant, and is habited by the loathsome reptile. That which would have been a green haunt, with its fair fountain, is a dreary and useless quagmire. Is it not thus with the mind, Guido?"
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 168-169:The paperwork got lost in a quagmire of bureaucracy.
The only way to know Shakespeare is through his works, and his works are textual quagmires.
2021 November 24, Stephen Marche, “The Algorithm That Could Take Us Inside Shakespeare’s Mind”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2022:I’ve had my doubts about Daenerys’ ability to rule, inspired in part by the quagmire in Meereen. Still, this feels like a precipitous decline. The queen of sobriquets has always been power hungry.
2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 28 Jan 2021:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| quagmires | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
quagmirish · quagmirical · quagmiry
Synonyms
ordeal · bucket of syrup · hole · jam · predicament · dilemma · kettle · kettle of fish · difficulty · cross · dire straits · trouble · tight spot · doghouse · marshland · mire · quandary · pinch · calvary · plight · predicament · ass in a sling · cauldron · quagmire · sticky wicket · pickle · cross to bear · sticky situation · fix · situation · quag · spot · spot of bother · marsh · bind
Translations (119)
sh močvara (swampy ground) · hi दलदल (swampy ground) · ur دلدل (swampy ground) · pl bagno (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · be ба́гна (swampy ground) · ba һаҙ (swampy ground) · gl chagorza (swampy ground) · ar مُسْتَنْقَع (swampy ground) · it pantano (swampy ground) · es tremedal (swampy ground) · fi kiipeli (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · mi wharu (swampy ground) · pl moczar (swampy ground) · bg треса́вище (swampy ground) · ru тряси́на (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · orv болото (swampy ground) · wa wachisse (swampy ground) · ja 窮地 (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ja 湿地 (swampy ground) · no sump (swampy ground) · da hængedynd (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · fi syöverit (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · de Sumpfboden (swampy ground) · el τέλμα (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ru топь (swampy ground) · fi hete (swampy ground) · pt charco (swampy ground) · da dynd (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · sv träsk (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · sv moras (swampy ground) · ka ჭანჭრობი (swampy ground) · fi suo (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · nl drijfzand (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ru боло́то (swampy ground) · sk močiar (swampy ground) · gl aluteiro (swampy ground) · gl foroncho (swampy ground) · ru боло́то (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · fr marécage (swampy ground) · be бало́та (swampy ground) · hu ingovány (swampy ground) · ja 泥沼 (swampy ground) · gl sapale (swampy ground) · ro mlaștină (swampy ground) · fr bourbier (swampy ground) · pl gąszcz (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pl błoto (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pt paul (swampy ground) · gl tremoeiro (swampy ground) · nl moeras (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ja 苦境 (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · cs močál (swampy ground) · cmn 泥潭 (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · fr marais (swampy ground) · ja 泥濘 (swampy ground) · de Sumpf (swampy ground) · gl lamazal (swampy ground) · da sump (swampy ground) · uk закови́ка (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ja 沼地 (swampy ground) · mi powharu (swampy ground) · wa maraexhe (swampy ground) · uk боло́то (swampy ground) · hu mocsár (swampy ground) · ca pantà (swampy ground) · sv sumpmark (swampy ground) · it ginepraio (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pl błoto (swampy ground) · bg затруднено положение (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · cs šlamastyka (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pt atoleiro (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · cs třasovisko (swampy ground) · ota باتاق (swampy ground) · cu блато (swampy ground) · sv gungfly (swampy ground) · el βάλτος (swampy ground) · ja 泥沼 (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pl mokradło (swampy ground) · gd boglach (swampy ground) · km ភក់ជ្រៅ (swampy ground) · ka ჭაობი (swampy ground) · gl toleiro (swampy ground) · fa خلاب (swampy ground) · gl groto (swampy ground) · sco champ (swampy ground) · ru тряси́на (swampy ground) · sh živi pijesak (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · ota خلاش (swampy ground) · cmn 沼澤 /沼泽 (swampy ground) · pl grzęzawisko (swampy ground) · cs bažina (swampy ground) · fi jorpakko (swampy ground) · ga bogach (swampy ground) · de Zwickmühle (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · nl moeras (swampy ground) · sh blȁto (swampy ground) · be дры́гва (swampy ground) · mi poharu (swampy ground) · pt pântano (swampy ground) · es tembladeral (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · wa bourbî (swampy ground) · da dynd (swampy ground) · fi hetteikkö (swampy ground) · sh бла̏то (swampy ground) · mi oru (swampy ground) · pl bagno (swampy ground) · no hengemyr (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · de Morastboden (swampy ground) · pl trzęsawisko (swampy ground) · fr bourbier (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pt confusão (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · bg мочур (swampy ground) · gl bulleiro (swampy ground) · no myr (swampy ground) · fa باتلاق (swampy ground) · uk трясови́на (swampy ground) · no kvikksand (perilous, mixed up and troubled situation) · pt brejo (swampy ground) · de Morast (swampy ground)