Library / English Dictionary

MIRE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot

Synonyms:

mire; morass; quag; quagmire; slack

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("mire" is a kind of...):

bog; peat bog (wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel)

Derivation:

mire (soil with mud, muck, or mire)

mire (be unable to move further)

mire (cause to get stuck as if in a mire)

miry ((of soil) soft and watery)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from

Example:

caught in the mire of poverty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("mire" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Deep soft mud in water or slush

Example:

they waded through the slop

Synonyms:

mire; slop

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("mire" is a kind of...):

clay; mud (water soaked soil; soft wet earth)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Soil with mud, muck, or mire

Example:

The child mucked up his shirt while playing ball in the garden

Synonyms:

mire; muck; muck up; mud

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "mire" is one way to...):

begrime; bemire; colly; dirty; grime; soil (make soiled, filthy, or dirty)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

mire (a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be unable to move further

Example:

The car bogged down in the sand

Synonyms:

bog down; get stuck; grind to a halt; mire

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "mire" is one way to...):

stand still (remain in place; hold still; remain fixed or immobile)

Verb group:

bog down; mire (cause to get stuck as if in a mire)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

mire (a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to get stuck as if in a mire

Example:

The mud mired our cart

Synonyms:

bog down; mire

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Cause:

bog down; get stuck; grind to a halt; mire (be unable to move further)

Verb group:

bog down; get stuck; grind to a halt; mire (be unable to move further)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

mire (a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Entrap

Example:

Our people should not be mired in the past

Synonyms:

entangle; mire

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "mire" is one way to...):

involve (engage as a participant)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

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