mire

Examples

• All

• Sadly, this leaves you somewhat deeper in the mire and with bloated taxes to boot.

  Blog text (24)

• Nonetheless, superior people can awaken during times of turmoil to lead others out of the mire.

  Blog text (15)

• So when someone sees you through the mire of it all, sees you as the person you came here to be, you notice them.

• "I had no choice to be brought into this mud and mire, put through the fire."

  Last Chance Charlene (2022)

• "I was getting myself into a mire and couldn't find a solid path out.

  Fiction book (1993)

• I sat in the mire of my own paralysis and asked, "What is this?"

  Blog text (13)

• A new volunteer, a miracle... he's pulling us out of the mire.

  The Professor and the Madman (2019)

• After two years of dither and delay, the government has sunk into a mire of chaos and division.

• I had to wade through its bureaucratic mire for 9 months just to get my teacher's license transferred from NY to PA.

  Blog text (29)

• Our commitment to liberating ourselves from this mire of cyclic existence must happen before true compassion is possible.

  Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

P

plight

vsmire

98 6.5

A difficult situation that is hard to get out of

is more neutral, stressing trouble rather than misfortune

P

predicament

vsmire

81 5.8

A difficult or embarrassing situation that is hard to escape

is broader, not necessarily focused on unpleasantness

B

bind

vsmire

• Informal

68 6.5

A difficult situation that is hard to get out of

is more about a troublesome situation than being stuck in place

Q

quagmire

vsmire

25 7.9

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve

is similar but focuses on difficulty rather than messiness

S

strait

vsmire

21 8.2

A difficult time when people have little money or help

is similar but less focused on hardship or severe distress

I

in a jam

vsmire

• Informal

14 6.7

In trouble and needing help to fix a problem

is more formal and neutral rather than colloquial or playful

M

morass

vsmire

10 9.3

A confusing situation full of problems that is hard to get out of

is more general and not only about confusion or entanglement

T

tricky situation

vsmire

4 3.7

A difficult situation that is hard to deal with

is more generally troublesome rather than merely awkward

D

desperate straits

vsmire

2 7.4

A situation of very great trouble and urgent need with no easy way out

is less extreme, meaning serious but not necessarily urgent

S

straits

vsmire

7.4

A difficult time when someone has little money or many problems

is more general and not only about severe hardship

K

knotty situation

vsmire

7.7

A difficult problem with no easy solution

is broader, not only about intricate or knotted complexity

Antonyms

S

solution

∞ 2.1

An answer to a problem or a way to deal with a difficult situation

E

escape

320 1.1

An act of getting away from a place where you are kept or are in danger

Idioms

W

to wallow in the mire

1 9.9

To stay sad and think about problems instead of trying to fix them

M

mire of one's own making

8.8

A difficult situation you cause by your own choices or actions

Compounds

F

financial mire

• Informal

7.7

A situation of serious money trouble that is hard to get out of

How Difficult

quagmire

25 7.9

mire

5 8.1

difficulty

651 2.4

problem

∞ 1.2

Surface Forms

Etymology