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swamp

swamp

13 7.0
A difficult, confusing situation that is hard to get out of
  • noun
  • /swɑmp/
  • Informal
translation icon : atolladero
  • Many who enter this swamp seem never to emerge from the other side.

Slogging through the swamp of, of unclear boundaries.

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Examples

  • Ah, we're waiting on the next bus out of the swamp.

  • I liked it better when it was a swamp and there was just the two of us.

  • So I met him in that swamp and just started like a journey with him.

  • It's nothing but a swamp, you know.

  • We ain't even out the swamp yet.

  • We're still in the goddamn swamp, and now we're being hit by a monsoon.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Students are thrown into the licensure swamp to figure it out on their own.

    Blog text (23)
  • You're in the middle of a swamp, 1000 miles from no place.

  • But yesterday and today, I seem to be emerging from this swamp of miseries.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Feeling lost in the complexities of my job, I realized I was trapped in a swamp of endless paperwork.

Synonyms

quagmire
vsswamp
25 7.9

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve

is broader, focusing on general confusion rather than messiness
morass
vsswamp
10 9.3

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

is about the struggle to escape rather than sheer confusion
mire
vsswamp
4 7.4

Deep soft wet ground like a bog that is hard to walk through

is a figurative difficult or confusing situation rather than literal ground
fever swamp
vsswamp
  • Informal
9.9

A confused situation full of rumours and wrong information

is a general difficult confusing situation without the hysteria focus

Antonyms

2.1

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

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

Idioms

To remove corruption and waste from a government or company

Compounds

3 5.8

A gas that forms when plants rot in wet places like marshes

swamp fever
  • Specialized
1 8.1

An infection people get from animals that causes fever and yellow skin

fever swamp
  • Informal
9.9

A confused situation full of rumours and wrong information

A large tree with a thick trunk that grows near rivers and lakes in central Mexico

Wood from large trees that grow near rivers in Mexico used for furniture and boats

mountain swamp gum
  • Australian
9.9

A medium-sized eucalyptus tree that grows in swampy mountain areas in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia

A large swamp in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida that is home to many wild animals

7.5

A tree from the southern United States with light wood used for furniture and guitars

8.6

A bush that loses its leaves and grows in eastern United States swamps with small pink or white flowers

8.6

A small tree or bush with white flowers that smell nice and grows in swamps

8.1

A birch tree from the western United States with brownish bark that grows in wetlands

A low spiny bush that grows in wet ground and has small black berries you can eat

A tall bush that grows in wet ground and makes dark blue berries you can eat in eastern North America

swamp chestnut oak
  • Specialized
6.6

A medium to large tree with big leaves that grows in wet areas of the southeastern United States

swamp cottonwood
  • Specialized
7.9

A tall tree with large round leaves that grows in wet places

swamp cypress
  • Specialized
7.7

A tree that has cones and a swollen base that grows in southern US swamps

8.0

A large vehicle with big wheels and a raised body that goes across wet, muddy land

swamp candleberry
  • Specialized
9.9

A bush with grey-green waxy berries that smell nice

swamp candles
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with tall yellow flower spikes that grows in wet marshes

swamp cypress
  • Specialized
7.4

Wood from trees with swollen bases that grow in southern US swamps and that people use to make furniture

swamp dewberry
  • Specialized
9.9

A bristly trailing plant with small black berries like a blackberry that grows in wet places

9.8

A tree from the eastern United States with 7 or 9 leaflets and thin, very bitter nuts

A shrub that grows in wet ground and has small white or pink flowers

A tall green plant with hollow stems that grows in marshes

8.6

A small tree or bush that grows in wet, swampy places in the United States

7.7

A plant that grows in wet places with thin stems and small white flowers

swamp fly honeysuckle
  • Specialized
8.8

A bush that grows in wet swamp areas and has small berries

swamp gum
  • Australian
9.5

A medium-sized tree from southern Australia that grows in damp or swampy places

7.4

A rabbit that lives in swampy lowlands in the southeastern United States

9.9

A tree that grows in southern swamps with short oval pods and strong dark wood

9.3

A bush with large pink flowers that grows in salt marshes

A plant that grows in soft wet ground near water, like cattails

7.4

A tree that grows in wet places like rivers and marshes with large rounded leaves and brown bark

8.1

A large rabbit that lives in marshes and swims well in the southeastern United States

8.5

A large North American tree with deep lobed leaves that grows in wet lowlands

A tall plant with large rose-colored flowers that grows in salt marshes

6.2

A tree growing where the ground is often wet with five-lobed leaves that turn red or yellow in autumn

A plant that grows in wet places with clusters of pink or white flowers

swamp oak
  • Australian
9.9

A small leafless Australian shrub with small yellow flowers that grows in wet places

7.4

A large North American tree that grows in wet soil and is used for its wood or colorful leaves

5.7

A tree that grows in wet, marshy ground and often gives wood for building

6.5

A small bird with reddish brown wings that lives and sings in marshes

A yellow wildflower with narrow leaves that grows in wet places like bogs and marshes

A large tree that grows in wet soil and has strong wood and leaves with shallow lobes

6.9

A small tree or shrub with narrow leaves that grows near lakes and rivers

How Difficult

quagmire
25 7.9
swamp
  • Informal
13 7.0
predicament
81 5.8
problem
1.2
issue
3.0

Surface Forms

swamp singular
swamps plural

Etymology

Swamp used for a difficult situation comes from the same image of wet land that is hard to leave. Because real swamps slow you down and hold you fast, being in a 'swamp' means you are in a messy, hard-to-escape problem.