Meaning & use

morass

noun·Advanced

A complicated, confusing situation that is difficult to escape; also, a wet, swampy area of ground.

See it in a sentence

The company got stuck in a morass of paperwork after the new regulations took effect.

Hikers avoided the morass at the edge of the field after heavy rain soaked the ground.

A note on using this word

Morass is most often used figuratively today, for a tangled or bogged-down situation, rather than literally for a swamp.

Words with a similar meaning

quagmiretangle

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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