mire
mire — noun
1. an unpleasant or complicated situation that is very hard to get out of
an unpleasant or complicated situation that is very hard to get out of
James found himself in a mire of unpaid bills and mounting debts.
pattern: a mire of [problems]
The company was pulled into a legal mire that took years to resolve.
Sumin tried to help her brother escape the mire of his failing business.
The town found itself in a financial mire after the factory closed down.
Ava tried to pull the charity from the mire of bad management and low donations.
- quagmire
more dramatic than mire; suggests an even worse, more tangled situation
- predicament
a difficult situation, often one you did not expect; less severe than mire
- morass
a confusing, messy situation; formal and literary
- solution
a way to fix the problem; the opposite of being trapped in a mire
文法句型
mire + of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Typically used in the pattern 'a mire of [something]', where the something is a collection of negative factors. Often preceded by an adjective: 'legal mire', 'financial mire', 'political mire'.
常見錯誤
2. soft, wet ground that is deep and muddy, so that your feet or the wheels of a ve
soft, wet ground that is deep and muddy, so that your feet or the wheels of a vehicle sink into it
After the heavy rain, the path through the forest turned into a dangerous mire.
countable: a mire = a muddy area
Shanti's boots were caked with mud after she slipped into a mire near the river.
The farmer lost a sheep in a deep mire behind the old stone barn.
Caleb warned hikers to stay on the trail and avoid the mire beyond the fence.
The wheels of the tractor sank axle-deep into a hidden mire in the lower field.
用法筆記
Often used with prepositions like 'in' or 'into' to describe location. Countable when referring to a specific patch of such ground.
常見錯誤
mire — verb
1. to trap someone or something in a difficult situation that prevents progress or
to trap someone or something in a difficult situation that prevents progress or forward movement
The new road project became mired in disagreements among local officials.
passive: become mired in [disagreements/complications]
Shanti felt mired by the endless paperwork and slow approval process.
The small business was mired in debt after only two years of operation.
Political disputes mired the new law in committee hearings for months.
Ziad's research project got mired in budget cuts and staff shortages.
文法句型
be mired in something
mire someone/something in something
用法筆記
The figurative use is more common than the literal verb senses. The object is almost always an abstract noun: debt, controversy, disputes, bureaucracy, complications.
常見錯誤
2. to cause a person, vehicle, or animal to become stuck in soft, wet ground so tha
to cause a person, vehicle, or animal to become stuck in soft, wet ground so that movement is impossible
The delivery truck was mired in the muddy field behind the farm.
passive: be mired in [ground]
Heavy snow mired the supply vehicles on the mountain road overnight.
The wagon's wheels were mired in the soft earth near the river crossing by the heavy load.
Erik's car got mired in the wet clay behind the abandoned house.
- free
to release from being stuck
文法句型
mire something in something
be mired in something
用法筆記
Very frequently used in the passive voice (be mired / get mired). The active transitive form is rare in modern English.
3. to make something dirty by covering it with wet mud or sticky earth
to make something dirty by covering it with wet mud or sticky earth
Tariro's white trousers were mired after she crossed the construction site.
passive: be mired = become dirty with mud
The children mired their shoes in the garden while chasing the neighbour's cat.
Sivan's jacket got mired when she slipped off her bicycle near the pond.
The dog ran through the wet garden and mired its paws in the flower bed.
- clean
to remove dirt from
文法句型
mire something/someone
be mired with something
用法筆記
This literal sense is very rare in modern English; 'cover with mud', 'get muddy', or 'soil' are much more common alternatives.
4. to sink down into soft, wet ground so that you are trapped and cannot get out on
to sink down into soft, wet ground so that you are trapped and cannot get out on your own
The horse mired in the swamp and needed help from the rescue team.
intransitive use: [subject] mired in [ground]
As the tide went out, the boat mired in the soft mud of the riverbed.
A young deer had mired in the bog and could not escape on its own.
Gabriela's back wheel mired in the rain-soaked grass near the parking lot.
- float
to stay on the surface; opposite of sinking
文法句型
mire in something
用法筆記
Distinguish from verb sense 2 (GET STUCK IN MUD): sense 2 is transitive (something causes a person or vehicle to get stuck), while sense 4 is intransitive (the subject sinks or gets stuck by itself). Sense 4 is extremely rare; 'sink', 'get stuck', or 'bog down' are far more common.