quicksand

noun

ˈkwik-ˌsand How to pronounce quicksand (audio)
Definition of quicksandnext
as in trap
something that catches and holds mired in the quicksand of credit card debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quicksand In hydra-like fashion, Carr’s agenda saw Jimmy Kimmel pulled into political and cultural quicksand last year as Nexstar pulled the ABC late-night host off its stations for more than a week. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2026 Such fluidity also extends to Amrum itself, where the land and water ebb and flow into one another, forming mudflats and murky patches of quicksand. — David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026 In our view, the only way to escape this play-in quicksand is to pick one of the three aforementioned paths. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026 And maybe that's how to escape the loyalty quicksand. — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 5 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quicksand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quicksand
  1. trap
  2. tangle
  3. quagmire
  4. labyrinth
  5. morass
  6. maze
  7. web
  8. entanglement
Noun
  • The team is analyzing microplastics painstakingly collected from plants, rocks, water samples and sticky traps erected along the shoreline.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • This kit makes both jobs simple with tools for cleaning up to 15-foot vents with flexible rods, specialty brushes that fit inside lint traps, and tweezers to reach into all the nooks and crannies.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of trap
Noun
  • The Bell Jar Tracing the tangle of a new job in New York City and the simultaneous onrush of clinical depression, The Bell Jar brings the interior world of central character Esther Greenwood into stunning relief.
    — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Penske has designed tracks through city blocks, but never through both federal and municipal grounds with a tangle of buildings that include the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Archives.
    — Adam Kilgore, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of tangle
Noun
  • The dirt infield was a muddy quagmire, which drew the ire of the typically mild-mannered Bart Starr, then head coach of the Packers.
    — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • But more than four years later, the invasion has turned into a quagmire that has crushed the Kremlin’s finances.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of quagmire
Noun
  • The chase that follows finds Reacher and Green eluding several officers in Magic Gardens, the South Street art space dominated by Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar’s multimedia mosaic labyrinth.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But the Gregorys noticed Atlantans, or others familiar with our city’s quirky labyrinth of Peachtrees, were seeing the Queens song and weighing in.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of labyrinth
Noun
  • The solution for all of this is the same that one that helped the NBA out of its morass two decades ago.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • There is also crypto tax software that can help investors sort through the tax morass, Walter said.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of morass
Noun
  • The second was a plus-maze task in which the mouse learns to navigate its way to a reward.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Tokenization brings that maze into view and offers a way to redesign parts of it with greater clarity, speed and coordination.
    — Federico Sendra, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of maze
Noun
  • The platform, which is now in beta, aims to give its users a one-stop shop to create games and publish them for mobile and web platforms, with support for TVs and Steam coming soon, and monetize them.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The bootloading process is now streamlined enough that it can be completed without any downloads through a web interface after connecting the headset to a PC.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of web
Noun
  • His sliding popularity, flip-flopping on key personnel decisions, and entanglement in corruption allegations, have taken their toll on his poll ratings.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Unlike circuits that store classical bits, qubits can exhibit strange phenomena like superposition and entanglement that give them extra computational power.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of entanglement

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Quicksand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quicksand. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on quicksand

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about quicksand

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