variants
also débâcle
1
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
the financial debacle that was the stock market crash of 1929
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in loser
something that has failed
the movie, which some had predicted would be a blockbuster, turned out to be the summer's biggest debacle at the multiplexes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debacle
That alone is enough to extinguish whatever lingered from Tuesday night’s debacle.
—
Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
While his college football debut went about as poorly as anyone could have predicted, in his typical stoic fashion, Belichick assigned blame to everyone involved in Monday night's debacle.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
United didn’t qualify for any European competition this season and the Grimsby debacle means the fixture list is now set until the FA Cup in January.
—Don Riddell, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
And so there is a real chance that lawmakers will prioritize funding this debacle over safety-net programs that help many poor Californians.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Chandler Rome, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
While his college football debut went about as poorly as anyone could have predicted, in his typical stoic fashion, Belichick assigned blame to everyone involved in Monday night's debacle.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
United didn’t qualify for any European competition this season and the Grimsby debacle means the fixture list is now set until the FA Cup in January.
—Don Riddell, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
And so there is a real chance that lawmakers will prioritize funding this debacle over safety-net programs that help many poor Californians.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacle
Noun
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Bureau staff were told the group itself, already gutted as part of mass layoffs at the State Department in July, would refocus on migration diplomacy and disaster response rather than its traditional refugee focus.—
Ted Hesson,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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That question frames an episode that opens not with battle, but with the kind of stillness that comes before disaster.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The houseguests then voted between the two comp losers, and when Julie announced the results, Will was evicted by a vote of 3-2 and became the season’s second jury member.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
11 Sep. 2025
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Instead of scrolling Twitter, read something about a cranky, divorced loser, like The Invisibility Cloak by Ge Fei, and translated by Canaan Morse.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But the shot has been a life-saving public health intervention against the disease, which can lead to severe health problems, including liver cancer and failure, and death.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
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Johnson has faced six rule vote failures under his speakership, with the most recent on July 15.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The statement further addressed the context of the tribute, comparing it to other moments of silence following tragedies.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Voters should be able to see, right away, who is funding their representatives, especially in the wake of tragedy.—
John J. Donohue,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Just as social media makes legacy media apparatus look sluggish by comparison, prediction markets expose traditional polls and surveys for being tainted by bias (see the 2016 Clinton fiasco).—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
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Long ago, most normal people concluded that this fiasco should be abandoned.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the decades since, more advanced simulations show how a warming planet could trigger all sorts of calamities, from heat waves and superstorms to desertification and ecosystem collapse.—
Zack Savitsky,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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Two more notable incidents occur amid the calamity.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacle. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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