debacle

American  

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

noun

• debacles
  plural

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• debacles
  plural

---

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

See Examples For:

debacle debacles

Afterward both coach and quarterback chivalrously protected each other by taking responsibility for the debacle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

This debacle over your future is a first-world embarrassment of riches.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

In the wake of the Carruthers debacle, substantial questions were raised about Fowler’s ethics and competence, but they did not deter Tennessee from calling on him again.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

Sheeran went on without opening acts, causing the show's start time to be pushed back, after several musicians dropped out over the debacle.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

As his beloved Bronchos sputtered and fluttered against the endless siege of that black-shirted machine, all he could do was wait for the debacle to be over.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Perhaps the biggest humiliation — at least until the recent twin debacles of the Freedom 250 implosion and the Kennedy Center ruling — was the Super Bowl halftime show.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

As the many debacles over inheritances show, it can often get worse as we get older.

From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026

Spy agencies saw profound implications in the recent debacles, far beyond public humiliation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

The debacles “may have repercussions on the financial system more broadly,” warns junk bond guru Marty Fridson, chief executive officer of FridsonVision High Yield Strategy.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025

Undoubtedly it will finally be repressed, but the danger of fresh debacles is weighing constantly on the country.

From History of the World War An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War by Francis Andrew March

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---