morass

noun

mo·rass mə-ˈras How to pronounce morass (audio)

mȯ-

: marsh, swamp

: a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes

a legal morass

: an overwhelming or confusing mass or mixture

a morass of traffic jams

Mary Roach

morassy

mə-ˈra-sē

mȯ-

adjective

Did you know?

The Swampy History of Morass

We won't swamp you with details: morass comes from the Dutch word moeras, which itself derives from an Old French word, maresc, meaning "marsh." Morass has been part of English for centuries, and in its earliest uses it was a synonym of swamp or marsh. (That was the sense Robert Louis Stevenson used when he described Long John Silver emerging from "a low white vapour that had crawled during the night out of the morass" in Treasure Island.) Imagine walking through a thick, muddy swamp—it's easy to compare such slogging to trying to disentangle yourself from a sticky situation. By the mid-19th century, morass had gained a figurative sense, and could refer to any predicament that was as murky, confusing, or difficult to navigate as a literal swamp or quagmire.

Example Sentences

advised against becoming involved in that country's civil war, warning that escape from that morass might prove nigh impossible the distracted driver had driven his car off the road and into a morass

Recent Examples on the Web Set against the backdrop of the West End production of Christie's The Mousetrap during its earliest days of success in the 1950s, the whodunit unravels a morass of murder involving film directors, movie stars, and peevish screenwriters.

Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2022 The alternative would require a huge morass of an opaque labyrinth of firewalls sometimes referred to as micro-segmentation.

Art Gilliland, Forbes, 15 July 2022 Federal authority would allow the government to rubber-stamp transmission lines without getting into the local and state regulatory morass.

Shannon Osaka, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Sep. 2022 In addition, the writing often bogs down in a morass of detail.

Bethany Mclean, Washington Post, 22 July 2022 No-nonsense manager Bob Melvin’s bottom line: ‘Play better’ Sitting unread in the email in-box Saturday morning was, at this head-scratching point, a seemingly reasonable thought about how to deal with the Padres’ post-trade deadline morass.

Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2022 Into all of this potential legal morass steps an idea that is being floated as a possible remedy, either on a short-term basis or possibly on a long-term haul.

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 China’s zero-COVID policy has produced an additional morass of opaque rules that can change by the hour, handing the already intrusive bureaucracy even more power over your life.

Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 14 June 2022 John Legend has a message that’s as tailor-made as his suits for this political morass of a moment in American history.

Erika D. Smithcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2022 See More

单词	morasses
释义	morass noun mo·rass mə-ˈras mȯ- 1 : marsh, swamp 2 a : a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes a legal morass b : an overwhelming or confusing mass or mixture a morass of traffic jams Mary Roach morassy mə-ˈra-sē mȯ- adjective Did you know? The Swampy History of Morass We won't swamp you with details: morass comes from the Dutch word moeras, which itself derives from an Old French word, maresc, meaning "marsh." Morass has been part of English for centuries, and in its earliest uses it was a synonym of swamp or marsh. (That was the sense Robert Louis Stevenson used when he described Long John Silver emerging from "a low white vapour that had crawled during the night out of the morass" in Treasure Island.) Imagine walking through a thick, muddy swamp—it's easy to compare such slogging to trying to disentangle yourself from a sticky situation. By the mid-19th century, morass had gained a figurative sense, and could refer to any predicament that was as murky, confusing, or difficult to navigate as a literal swamp or quagmire. Synonyms entanglement mesh(es) net noose quagmire quicksand snare tanglement toil(s) trap web See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences advised against becoming involved in that country's civil war, warning that escape from that morass might prove nigh impossible the distracted driver had driven his car off the road and into a morass Recent Examples on the Web Set against the backdrop of the West End production of Christie's The Mousetrap during its earliest days of success in the 1950s, the whodunit unravels a morass of murder involving film directors, movie stars, and peevish screenwriters. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2022 The alternative would require a huge morass of an opaque labyrinth of firewalls sometimes referred to as micro-segmentation. Art Gilliland, Forbes, 15 July 2022 Federal authority would allow the government to rubber-stamp transmission lines without getting into the local and state regulatory morass. Shannon Osaka, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Sep. 2022 In addition, the writing often bogs down in a morass of detail. Bethany Mclean, Washington Post, 22 July 2022 No-nonsense manager Bob Melvin’s bottom line: ‘Play better’ Sitting unread in the email in-box Saturday morning was, at this head-scratching point, a seemingly reasonable thought about how to deal with the Padres’ post-trade deadline morass. Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2022 Into all of this potential legal morass steps an idea that is being floated as a possible remedy, either on a short-term basis or possibly on a long-term haul. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 China’s zero-COVID policy has produced an additional morass of opaque rules that can change by the hour, handing the already intrusive bureaucracy even more power over your life. Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 14 June 2022 John Legend has a message that’s as tailor-made as his suits for this political morass of a moment in American history. Erika D. Smithcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology Dutch moeras, modification of Old French maresc, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English mersc marsh — more at marsh First Known Use 1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition morass noun mo·rass mə-ˈras : marsh, swamp morasses noun plural of morass 1 as in quicksands something that catches and holds advised against becoming involved in that country's civil war, warning that escape from that morass might prove nigh impossible Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance quicksands quagmires tangles labyrinths traps entanglements toils mazes webs snares meshes nets nooses tanglements snarls cobwebs knots spiderwebs cat's cradles 2 as in swamps spongy land saturated or partially covered with water the distracted driver had driven his car off the road and into a morass Synonyms & Similar Words swamps marshes wetlands bogs sloughs swamplands fens muskegs mires marshlands muds moors washes slues slews quagmires swales sludges muck oozes slimes gooks gucks slush slop
随便看	pansophies pansophism pansophist pansophists pansophy panspermatists panspermias panspermists pansporoblast pansy pansy orchid pansy purple pansy violet pant pant (after) pant after pant for breath panta rhei pantagamy pantagraph Pantagruel pantagruelian Pantagruelism pantagruelisms Pantagruelist

morass

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

noun

noun