mire

IPA/ˈmaɪə(r)/
KK[mˈaɪr]IPA/ˈmaɪər/

mire — noun

  • miresingular
  • miresplural

1. an unpleasant or complicated situation that is very hard to get out of

1.nounC1
Definition

an unpleasant or complicated situation that is very hard to get out of

Example

James found himself in a mire of unpaid bills and mounting debts.

pattern: a mire of [problems]

The company was pulled into a legal mire that took years to resolve.

Common collocations
  • a mire of debt
  • a legal mire
  • a financial mire
  • a political mire
  • in a mire of
  • escape the mire
  • pull out of the mire
Synonyms
  • quagmire

    more dramatic than mire; suggests an even worse, more tangled situation

  • predicament

    a difficult situation, often one you did not expect; less severe than mire

  • morass

    a confusing, messy situation; formal and literary

Antonyms
  • solution

    a way to fix the problem; the opposite of being trapped in a mire

Grammar Patterns

mire + of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Typically used in the pattern 'a mire of [something]', where the something is a collection of negative factors. Often preceded by an adjective: 'legal mire', 'financial mire', 'political mire'.

Common Mistakes

He was in a mire.' (too vague).
He was in a mire of debt and court cases.
the mire needs a description of what it consists of.

2. soft, wet ground that is deep and muddy, so that your feet or the wheels of a ve

2.nounC1
Definition

soft, wet ground that is deep and muddy, so that your feet or the wheels of a vehicle sink into it

Example

After the heavy rain, the path through the forest turned into a dangerous mire.

countable: a mire = a muddy area

Shanti's boots were caked with mud after she slipped into a mire near the river.

Common collocations
  • sink into a mire
  • get stuck in a mire
  • deep mire
  • hidden mire
  • turn into a mire
Synonyms
  • bog

    a wetland with spongy ground, usually broader than a mire

  • quagmire

    a boggy area that shakes when walked on; also used figuratively like mire

  • swamp

    a low-lying area with standing water; larger and wetter than a mire

Usage Note

Often used with prepositions like 'in' or 'into' to describe location. Countable when referring to a specific patch of such ground.

Common Mistakes

The road was a mire after the rain' (too vague).
The road turned into a mire after the rain.
'mire' implies sinking, not just a wet surface.

mire — verb

Word family

  • mired
    adjectiveC1
  • miry
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe difficult situations, but they differ in intensity and connotation. 'Mire' (noun/1) suggests a situation you are trapped in with no easy way out, like deep mud that holds you back. 'Predicament' is the mildest of the group — it describes an awkward or unpleasant situation that is usually unexpected, but not necessarily long-lasting. 'Quagmire' is stronger than 'mire'; it implies a situation that gets worse the more you struggle with it, similar to a swamp that shakes underfoot. 'Mess' is the most informal and general — any disorderly or problematic situation, from a messy room to a messy relationship. 'Morass' is formal and literary, suggesting a confusing, tangled mess that is hard to think clearly in. For everyday speech, 'mess' is most common. For writing, 'mire' and 'quagmire' add vivid imagery.

predicament ↗quagmiremess ↗morass ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • mire of
  • in a mire
  • pull out of the mire
  • drag into the mire
  • mired in

Prepositions

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'mire' comes from Old Norse 'myrr', meaning a bog or swampy ground. It entered English through Scandinavian settlers in northern England around the 13th century. The original meaning of wet, muddy ground has stayed the same for nearly 800 years. By the 1500s, writers began using it figuratively to describe difficult situations that trap a person like mud traps a cart wheel. This figurative use became the dominant meaning in modern English.