debâcle
Definition
- Noun:
- A sudden, disastrous collapse or failure: "debâcle" refers to a complete and often humiliating failure, especially in a military, political, or financial context.
- A chaotic rout or overthrow: Originally used to describe the breakup of ice on a river, it now primarily denotes a total breakdown or rout, such as of an army or government.
- A fiasco: In general usage, it means any event that ends in utter failure or disorder.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The company's financial debâcle led to its bankruptcy. (A complete and disastrous failure.)
- The military debâcle resulted in the loss of thousands of soldiers. (A chaotic rout in battle.)
- The party was a debâcle; nothing went as planned. (A total fiasco or mess.)
Advanced Usage
- "to end in debâcle": to conclude in a disastrous failure.
- The ambitious project ended in debâcle due to poor planning. (It failed completely and catastrophically.)
- "a political debâcle": a major failure in the political arena.
- The election results were a debâcle for the ruling party. (A humiliating defeat for the party.)
Variants and Related Words
- Debacle (alternate spelling): The same word, often written without the accent mark in English.
- The economic debacle affected millions of people. (A disastrous collapse.)
- Debacle-ridden (adj): characterized by frequent or severe failures.
- The debacle-ridden administration struggled to maintain order. (Plagued by failures.)
Synonyms
- Fiasco: a complete failure, especially one that is absurd or embarrassing.
- Rout: a disorderly retreat or defeat of an army.
- Collapse: a sudden failure or breakdown.
- Catastrophe: an event causing great and often sudden damage or suffering.
Phrasal Verbs
- None directly associated with "debâcle." The word is primarily used as a noun.
Related Idioms
- "a debâcle of epic proportions": a failure of enormous scale.
- The launch of the new product was a debâcle of epic proportions, costing the company millions. (An extremely large and disastrous failure.)