morass
morass — noun
- morasssingular
- morassesplural
1. a complicated and unpleasant situation that entangles you and blocks any way for
a complicated and unpleasant situation that entangles you and blocks any way forward
Nora spent months untangling herself from a morass of unpaid taxes.
a morass of + [problem]
The new policy created a morass of confusing rules that nobody understood.
a morass of + [abstract noun]
After the scandal, Darius found himself trapped in a legal morass.
Hana's application for a building permit turned into an administrative morass of missing forms.
Kwame stared at the pile of unpaid bills — his small shop had sunk into a financial morass.
- quagmire
very close synonym; quagmire stresses being stuck and unable to move, morass stresses tangled complexity
- tangle
less formal; a tangle can refer to smaller or everyday confused situations
- predicament
any difficult situation you need to escape, without the connotation of complexity
- imbroglio
more formal; specifically an embarrassing or scandalous entanglement
- clarity
the quality of being clear and simple to understand or navigate
文法句型
a morass of + [bureaucracy/debt/confusion/paperwork]
用法筆記
Frequently followed by 'of + noun' naming the source of the tangle (a morass of regulations, a morass of debt). Common in journalism and formal prose.
常見錯誤
2. a stretch of wet, boggy ground that sinks when you step on it
a stretch of wet, boggy ground that sinks when you step on it
The hikers got lost and wandered into a vast morass near the river.
a + [adjective] + morass
Beatrix warned the children not to play near the dangerous morass.
Heavy rain had turned the field into an impassable morass of mud.
Yuki felt the cold mud swallow her ankle as she stepped into the hidden morass.
Amelia's boot sank deep into the morass, and she could not pull it free.
用法筆記
Now mainly literary or historical. In modern everyday speech, 'swamp', 'bog', or 'marsh' are almost always used instead.