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debacle Definition

de·ba·cle (di bäkəl, -bakəl; dā-)

noun

  1. a breaking up of ice in a river, etc.
  2. a rush of debris-filled waters
  3. an overwhelming defeat or rout
  4. a total, often ludicrous, collapse or failure

Etymology: Fr débâcle, breakup, overthrow < débâcler, to break up < dé-, de-, + bâcler, to bar, prob. < VL *bacculare < *bacculum, var. of L baculum, staff: see bacillus

debacle Synonyms

debacle

n.

debacle Usage Examples

Possessives

  • yesterday: The answer may lie in yesterday's debacle over a Working Group on Biotechnology ( 3 ).
  • year: The fourth boat rectified last year's lower boat debacle with four swift bumps, all within the minute.
  • week: After last week's debacle, this week's game at home to Pheonix was an important one.

Converse of object

  • follow: Following this debacle, he fled from Heaven, pursued by the hundred thousand soldiers of same.
  • avoid: And if we are to avoid the debacle of Seattle and the disappointments of Cancun the richest countries must agree to move.
  • ensue: The ensuing debacle played a prominent part in the fomenting of the 1917 mutinies in the French Army.
  • see: Almost everyday we see pension debacles in the press whether government or company pension schemes.
  • remember: I remember the debacle of the commissioning of OTRU.

Adjective modifier

  • Welsh: Hadden has since maintained a diplomatic silence over the mistakes to be avoided from the latest Welsh debacle.
  • recent: The response to their recent election debacle was to say ' no turning back ' .
  • whole: In a matter of weeks the whole debacle could be quietly forgotten.
  • foreign: The foreign prisoners debacle has led to further pressures.
  • current: David Wright - Friday, 18 August 2006, at 10:44 pm What do you folks think of the current security debacles?
  • late: Look at the latest debacle on SIPP's for example.

Noun used with modifier

  • prisoner: The foreign prisoners debacle has led to further pressures.
  • pension: Almost everyday we see pension debacles in the press whether government or company pension schemes.
  • tax: Who can forget the fuel tax debacle last autumn?
  • leadership: The leadership debacle provided opposition parties and the media with an open season.
  • rootkit: Think last year's Sony rootkit debacle writ large.
  • election: The response to their recent election debacle was to say ' no turning back ' .

Browse dictionary entries near debacle

  1. deb
  2. Deauville
  3. deathwatch
  4. deathtrap
  5. deathsman
  6. deathly
  7. deathless
  8. deathful
  9. deathcamas
  10. deathblow
  1. debag
  2. debar
  3. debark
  4. debase
  5. debased
  6. debasement
  7. debatable
  8. debate
  9. debauch
  10. debauched