morass

noun

mo·​rass mə-ˈras How to pronounce morass (audio)
mȯ-
1
2
a
: a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes
a legal morass
b
: an overwhelming or confusing mass or mixture
a morass of traffic jamsMary Roach
morassy adjective

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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 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 an effort to extricate 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.

Examples of morass in a Sentence

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
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.
The culture and system of DOC has solidified into this morass of unaccountability and negligence that can probably only be excised from without, by an official not tethered to it or the city’s broader political strictures. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2025 There's this huge morass of gray that both Mark and Cecil [Walton Goggins], and most of our characters, exist in. Nick Romano, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025 The legal morass created by this scheme doesn't end there. Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025 Shapiro, who launched crisis PR firm 10th Avenue Consulting in 2015 after his lengthy tenure in the federal government, would seem an unconventional choice for Lively given that the spiraling legal morass has no obvious political ties. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for morass

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of morass was in 1655

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Cite this Entry

“Morass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morass. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

morass

noun
mo·​rass mə-ˈras How to pronounce morass (audio)
1
2
: a situation that traps, confuses, or hinders

More from Merriam-Webster on morass

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