Quagmire is a noun that refers to an awkward or difficult situation.

Our word of the day combines two words ‘quag’ and ‘mire’ that refer to a boggy marsh. The word can be used to refer to an actual swamp into which a person may be in danger of sinking. Or it can refer to a metaphorical swamp that features the same danger. For example: the scandal became something of a quagmire for the Senator. With every step he took, there was a danger he could get swallowed up by it.