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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of debacle
The San Francisco Giants' Pride Night debacle just keeps getting worse thanks to team President and CEO Larry Baer.
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Jon Root Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
26 June 2026
Many blame him for the debacle that marked the chaotic end of 20 years of military involvement.
—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
25 June 2026
One section of the book centers on the freakout over the Epstein files debacle.
—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
23 June 2026
The continual debacle surrounding the Epstein files and the speed of political retribution by the Justice Department seem to be two of the leading reasons.
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Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Jon Root Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
26 June 2026
Many blame him for the debacle that marked the chaotic end of 20 years of military involvement.
—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
25 June 2026
One section of the book centers on the freakout over the Epstein files debacle.
—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
23 June 2026
The continual debacle surrounding the Epstein files and the speed of political retribution by the Justice Department seem to be two of the leading reasons.
—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for debacle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacle
Noun
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Rodríguez said numerous public officials died in the disaster, including security personnel, municipal employees and military officers.
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The Boyle Heights blaze, similar to the Eaton and Palisades fires, has revealed the region’s air monitoring can’t always tell people what they’ve been exposed to in a disaster.
Noun
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Taking the midway point of those numbers, an opening weekend of $45 million would be a monumental failure.
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Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways.
Noun
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Days before the five-year anniversary of the 2021 building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, the federal government has published findings that determined the structure of the Champlain Towers South condominium started failing about three weeks before the catastrophe.
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Chile introduced a tax deduction for catastrophe insurance premiums and resilience retrofit investment.
Noun
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There were missteps for Arista along the way, including the Milli Vanilli fiasco of the late 1980s, but the label would become a destination where artists would revive their careers after commercial step-backs or dormancy.
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If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.
Noun
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During the June 23 meeting, residents urged city officials to keep funding the team to prevent future tragedies.
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Here are the most significant developments since the tragedy occurred.
Noun
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And just when things could not look rosier, the SaaS apocalypse occurred.
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Not for the faint of heart, California’s Salton Sea conjures a sense of apocalypse.
Cite this Entry
“Debacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacle. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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