as in marsh
spongy land saturated or partially covered with water a day spent trudging through the fens in quest of game birds

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of fen Saving a satyr The property features a peat-bearing wetland called a fen, and the Mitchell’s satyr is only found in these rare habitats that take thousands of years to develop. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Dec. 2024 Earth’s earliest wildfires may have been fitful and erratic, flickering among the amphibious flora of fens and bogs. Ferris Jabr, The Atlantic, 25 June 2024 They can be found on all continents and are classified into bogs, fens and swamps. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024 But after decades of habitat destruction, these handsome insects are now fragmented and locally extinct, holding out in the wettest fens, valleys, and peat bogs of the New Forest and Dorset. Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024 The plants have been found in Indiana's forested wetlands, fens, savannas and forests as well as long roadsides and in old crop fields. The Indianapolis Star, 19 Mar. 2024 According to Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, wetlands include bogs, dune and swale, fens, flatwoods, floodplain forests, marshes, ponds, lakes, sedge meadows, seeps, streams, creeks, major rivers and swamps. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Feb. 2024 Traversing swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, bayous and baygalls across Georgia, Louisiana and his home of East Texas, Carter creates haunting photographs that invoke the imagination. Donny Bajohr, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023 There are four main kinds: Marshes, swamps, bogs and fens. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 24 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fen
Noun
  • Florida's natural landscape includes bird-friendly sawgrass marshes, cypress forests, and seashore. Texas also has a diverse landscape, including the World Birding Center, a collection of nine parks and preserves in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 2 May 2025
  • Deinosuchus could then have spread across the continent to inhabit coastal marshes on both sides of the ancient inland sea, and along North America’s Atlantic coast.
    Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But the success of the axolotls in La Cantera Oriente suggests the species could also thrive in artificial wetlands.
    Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2025
  • In the artificial wetland La Cantera Oriente, movement peaked at a cooler 59.9 °F (15.5 to 16.5 °C).
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • My Dien is a hurried cluster that has grown up ad hoc, with buildings of varying sizes rising like reeds from a fertile swamp.
    Damien Cave, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
  • To fight an elusive enemy operating clandestinely at night and from hideouts deep in swamps and jungles, the U.S. military turned to environmental modification technologies.
    Pamela McElwee, The Conversation, 28 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fen. Accessed 18 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fen

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!