der Morast
quagmire
A swampy, very wet, muddy ground that is easy to sink into.
EXAMPLE
Nach dem starken Regen war der Weg voller Morast.
After the heavy rain, the path was full of mud.
der Morast
mire
der Morast, die Moraste
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
der Morast
mire
A state of moral degradation in which much wrongdoing, such as corruption, fraud, and lies, has accumulated.
EXAMPLE
Der Journalist deckte den politischen Morast hinter dem Skandal auf.
The journalist exposed the political mire behind the scandal.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Morast, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Moraste |
| genitive | des Morasts |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Morast | die Moraste die Moräste |
| accusative | den Morast | die Moraste die Moräste |
| dative | dem Morast | den Morasten den Morästen |
| genitive | des Morasts des Morastes | der Moraste der Moräste |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Typical collocations
Common expressions include „im Morast versinken“ (to sink into the mire), „im Morast stecken bleiben“ (to get stuck in the mire), and „sich aus dem Morast ziehen“ (to pull oneself out of the mire). „Im Morast“ describes the surroundings, while „aus dem Morast“ indicates movement out of them.
EXAMPLE
Unser Wagen blieb auf dem Waldweg im Morast stecken.
Our car got stuck in the mire on the forest path.
Das Pferd konnte sich mit großer Mühe aus dem Morast ziehen.
The horse managed to pull itself out of the mire with great difficulty.
Typical usage pattern
„Morast aus“ (a mire of) followed by one or more abstract nouns can describe which problems are interconnected. Typical terms include „Korruption“ (corruption), „Lügen“ (lies), and „Betrug“ (fraud).
EXAMPLE
Die Untersuchung brachte einen Morast aus Korruption und Betrug ans Licht.
The investigation brought a mire of corruption and fraud to light.
Strongly negative evaluation
The figurative use of „Morast“ (mire) is strongly negative and often sounds dramatic. It is especially common in journalistic texts and political commentary, where it expresses a strongly negative evaluation.
EXAMPLE
In ihrem Kommentar warf die Autorin der Parteiführung vor, immer tiefer im politischen Morast zu versinken.
In her commentary, the author accused the party leadership of sinking ever deeper into the political mire.
In real life
Loading video examples...