debacle

American  

[dey-, -bak-uhl, duh-, dee-bah-kuhl] / deɪ-, -ˈbæk əl, də-, diˈbɑ kəl /

noun

1. a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout.

   The revolution ended in a debacle.

2. a complete collapse or failure.

   Synonyms:

   calamity, catastrophe, fiasco, ruin, disaster

3. a breaking up of ice in a river.

4. a violent rush of waters or ice.

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debacle British  

/ deɪˈbɑːkəl, dɪ- /

noun

1. a sudden disastrous collapse or defeat, esp one involving a disorderly retreat; rout

2. the breaking up of ice in a river during spring or summer, often causing flooding

3. a violent rush of water carrying along debris

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Etymology

Origin of debacle

1795–1805; < French débâcle, derivative of débâcler to unbar, clear, equivalent to dé- dis- ¹ + bâcler to bar ≪ Latin baculum stick, rod

Explanation

Use debacle to refer to a fiasco, disaster, or great failure. If several dogs run onto the field during the big baseball game, tripping players and chewing up the bases, you can call the whole event a debacle. Debacle is sometimes used to describe a military defeat. If your army retreats, that's one thing. If your army is outmaneuvered and ends up huddled in a valley, surrounded on all sides by the enemy, forced to sing 90s sitcom theme songs by their savage captors — that's a debacle. Debacle comes from the French débâcler, "to clear," — the prefix des- means "completely, utterly" and the verb bacler means "to block."

Example Sentences

Without a written agreement, this could be just the start of the child-support debacle, not the end of it.

From MarketWatch • May 16, 2026

As you said, Mikael, the trap-smeared “Ran to Atlanta” shows he at least has a sense of humor about the whole debacle, reuniting with Future to do exactly what Kendrick accused him of.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

The lesson from the telecom debacle is that financial engineering can obscure, for years, the difference between real customer demand and demand driven by incentives.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

After that debacle, Mom and Pop would remain on the sidelines until after World War II, when the American economy boomed once more.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Or given me any assignment after my debacle with Luzan, much less one with a man like John Kwang, with whom I might so easily identify?

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• beating
• breakdown
• collapse
• crash
• defeat
• devastation
• disaster
• downfall
• drubbing
• failure
• fiasco
• reversal
• rout
• wreck