variants
also débâcles
1
as in disasters
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failures
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
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Recent Examples of debacles
Otherwise, the Democrats’ showing in the campaign has amounted to a pileup of debacles.
—
Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026
The one tiny potential upside of the populist movement was its apparent reluctance to plunge the nation into foreign debacles.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
From shocking district alignments to puzzling travel debacles, many coaches were left shaking their heads in disbelief.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Several similar debacles have plagued the team over the last six years, but this one may just take the cake.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
Reduced runway capacity and de-icing debacles, with the airport’s supplies of de-icing fluid at one point running low this week, also have contributed to flight backlogs, creating a domino effect across flight networks in Europe and beyond.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 8 Jan. 2026
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
Those debacles not only angered voters but showed to the bond markets that Labour would struggle to shore up Britain’s public finances.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Japan is also looking at political uncertainty as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to step down, following electoral debacles that saw the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lose its majority in both the lower and upper houses of parliament.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026
The one tiny potential upside of the populist movement was its apparent reluctance to plunge the nation into foreign debacles.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
From shocking district alignments to puzzling travel debacles, many coaches were left shaking their heads in disbelief.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Several similar debacles have plagued the team over the last six years, but this one may just take the cake.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
Reduced runway capacity and de-icing debacles, with the airport’s supplies of de-icing fluid at one point running low this week, also have contributed to flight backlogs, creating a domino effect across flight networks in Europe and beyond.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 8 Jan. 2026
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
Those debacles not only angered voters but showed to the bond markets that Labour would struggle to shore up Britain’s public finances.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Japan is also looking at political uncertainty as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to step down, following electoral debacles that saw the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lose its majority in both the lower and upper houses of parliament.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacles
Noun
-
Many more chemical incidents in the commonwealth have not been examined by the agency, which generally allocates its small staff to the country's most high-profile disasters.—
Ruby Grisin,
The Courier-Journal,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Some of our existing housing stock will be demolished or destroyed by fire or other disasters.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Vallejo’s Broadway Project finished years late and massively over budget after contractor failures and internal disputes.—
Michele Steeb,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
-
But most of its failures are subtler, more insidious.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Then there were climate catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, the normalization of active shooter drills at their schools and a worldwide pandemic.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
-
Global natural catastrophes now generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses annually, with a significant portion uninsured.—
Jim Williamson,
Fortune,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Loop the Vikings in with the Commanders as one of the biggest disappointments of this NFL season, as JJ McCarthy has had one of the worst starting runs of any first-round rookie QB in history.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
5 Dec. 2025
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Instead the book is a collection of images and ideas and ordinary moments and banal successes and disappointments that slowly becomes much more than the sum of its parts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That could’ve been it for the Allman Brothers, but Gregg recovered and the bruised band soldiered on through a series of further tragedies, including the death of bassist Berry Oakley, also in a motorcycle crash, in 1972.—
Steve Bloom,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
-
Not perfectly so—nothing in life is a completely sure bet, and human error can and has led to a handful of genuine tragedies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
-
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In early times, most humans barely paid attention to weather calamities because the region was so sparsely populated.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
-
Even when calamities are more intimate, such as being unemployed for a long period of time, there is a higher risk of smoking, likely due to the anxiety.—
Julia Craven,
Allure,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debacles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacles. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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