How to Memorize

quagmire - predicament

Analysis

In a literal sense, the word ‘quagmire’ refers to a treacherous area of soft, wet, muddy ground that is easy to sink into and become stuck. In a figurative and more commonly used sense, the term describes a precarious or highly difficult situation that is hard to avoid or escape from. In the latter context, it is often used in relation to politics.

Example(s)

1. Those country roads are highly treacherous at this time of year. Heavy rains turn them into a quagmire.

2. The dispute between us and that company has turned into a legal quagmire that has had a deleterious impact on finances.

3. I don’t think our party should get involved in the debate over that controversial policy because it will inevitably become a political quagmire that will be nearly impossible to extricate ourselves from.