debacle
a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout: The revolution ended in a debacle.
a complete collapse or failure.
a breaking up of ice in a river.: Compare embacle.
a violent rush of waters or ice.
Origin of debacle
1Other words for debacle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use debacle in a sentence
Think of the embarrassing subway platform or mid-office “adjustment” debacles you could avoid!
Would You Pay $100 For a 50 Cent Bulge? Men’s Undies Get Expensive | James Joiner | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor want of a nail, the shoe was lost, triggering a chain of events that leads to much greater debacles.
Government Shuts Down and Private Sector Feels the Pain, Too | Daniel Gross | October 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThese are military and political debacles to rival the Boer War.
The Petraeus Revolution: How He Changed the American Way of War | John Barry | January 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTI can only think that the Geithner and Daschle tax debacles threw Obama and his new team seriously off their game.
For a long time they continued to be considered as flood deposits, laid down by debacles of obscure origin.
James Geikie | Marion I. Newbigin
And these debacles always happen in the same way, if they are going to happen at all, to men whose money is mostly on paper.
The Romantic Lady | Michael Arlen
British Dictionary definitions for debacle
/ (deɪˈbɑːkəl, dɪ-) /
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
Origin of debacle
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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