Debacle

/deɪˈbɑː.kəl/ · noun

Meaning

(figurative) An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences..

Definitions by Sense

1. (figurative) An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences.
2. (geology) A breaking up of a natural dam, usually made of ice, by a river and the ensuing rush of water.

Example Sentences

The event proved to be a great debacle for the partisans of this prognosticator.

The result is a military approach which maximizes political tensions with Russia […] and lays the ground for a military debacle.

The BP Prudhoe Bay debacle [the Prudhoe Bay oil spill] thus provides but the latest in a long line of reasons why leasing this region of the NPR-A is a bad idea.

[…] so that in extreme cases the latter may even be dammed up for a time, and a debacle be the consequence, when the main river overcomes the resistance opposed to it, […]

For several months after the debacle just described, the river Dranse, having no settled channel, shifted its position continually […]

When this débâcle commences […], the masses of ice, drifting with the current and unable to pass, are hurled upon those already soldered together; thus an enormous barrier is formed […]

Synonyms for debacle

Antonyms for debacle

Related Words

Word Forms

• debacles
• débâcle
• debâcle
• débacle

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions