debacle
Americannoun
-
a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout.
The revolution ended in a debacle.
-
a complete collapse or failure.
- Synonyms:
- calamity, catastrophe, fiasco, ruin, disaster
-
a breaking up of ice in a river.
-
a violent rush of waters or ice.
noun
-
a sudden disastrous collapse or defeat, esp one involving a disorderly retreat; rout
-
the breaking up of ice in a river during spring or summer, often causing flooding
-
a violent rush of water carrying along debris
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."
Vocabulary lists containing debacle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 ongoing debacle in Iran is proof enough of this.
From Salon • May 7, 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
And I took great care to appear so deeply, thoroughly unmoved by the whole photo debacle that the mess defused itself in a matter of days.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
