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 failure
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
Less than five months after the Imane Khelif debacle, Rowling joined the transvestigation of Zambian soccer player Barbra Banda after she was crowned 2024 Women’s Footballer of the Year.
—
Quispe López, Them., 30 Oct. 2025
But the Giants dropped eight players at the end of that debacle at Denver.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
The couple eventually moved on to discuss the wonders of drive-through car washes, though the airport debacle resurfaced during an interview with Allison Williams later in the show.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
So was the collateralized mortgage debacle starting in 2007.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Quispe López, Them., 30 Oct. 2025
But the Giants dropped eight players at the end of that debacle at Denver.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
The couple eventually moved on to discuss the wonders of drive-through car washes, though the airport debacle resurfaced during an interview with Allison Williams later in the show.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
So was the collateralized mortgage debacle starting in 2007.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacle
Noun
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The journalists who rushed to the scene managed to jot down the names of about a dozen—the VIPs (there were three members of parliament on the train that day, which was a factor in the disaster) and a couple of servants.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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As a train barrels toward her near the final moments of the video, Perry spots a daisy on the tracks — seemingly a nod to her daughter — and dodges disaster.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The failures of that occupation were many, relating to security, governance, the economy, and provision of basic municipal services.—
Ben Wedeman,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
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My father had two superpowers that saved him in the face of all those failures—his talent for telling stories and gardening.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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One of his conclusions after all that government service was that Congress had scraped too much power away from the presidency after the fiasco of Vietnam and scandal of Watergate.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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According to a post on the Reddit Wedding Shaming forum, a woman detailed the fiasco surrounding her cousin’s wedding.—
Emily Strohm,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Ege didn’t know it at the time, but the tragedy that happened to Musyoka has been playing out across the nation as pedestrian deaths near a four-decade high.—
Johnny Dodd,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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Burma’s plight is not just a domestic tragedy but echoes across the globe.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Carol, a reclusive and disgruntled bestselling romantasy author, exhorts her reticent audience of five immune English speakers to reclaim human agency against the milquetoast, obsequious blob and join her in a quest to reverse the happiness apocalypse.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
8 Nov. 2025
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Ilana presents herself as a stout-hearted reformer who’s being targeted by fascistic insurgents but is secretly evil enough to engineer an apocalypse.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacle. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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