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
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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
After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested.
—
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025
The concept was so sticky and compelling, though, that others started mining histories of notorious debacles for more examples of the same.
—David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 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
Property tax debacles Legislators and other panelists were split on how the recall could affect ongoing discourse around property tax valuations in Jackson County.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
After two playoff debacles, a track record of poor play against quality teams during his tenure and a season of disappointment in 2024, the coach must direct his team toward a strong rebound this week against the New England Patriots.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
But overall, history provides numerous examples of politicians, especially in autocracies, who can survive military debacles.
—John Mueller, Foreign Affairs, 29 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debacles
Noun
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The Packers had seen their season end in two of the last three postseasons in part because of special teams disasters, and Saturday night was no different.—
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Overall, the nation suffered a staggering 23 separate weather and climate disasters in 2025, each of which cost over $1 billion in damages.—
Noun
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Thinking globally and acting locally means electing people of vision, not people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag without a lobbyist lighting their way under the table, or down the wrong path where for-profit companies rule and teachers are scapegoated for society's failures.—
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Despite multiple ongoing investigations, survivors say officials still lack answers about why response failures disproportionately affected west Altadena.—
Noun
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An observer of catastrophes, come what may.—
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Across their nearly 100-year football rivalry, USC and Notre Dame have only paused their annual matchup for global catastrophes like World War II and the Covid-19 pandemic.—
Noun
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Advertisement Books provide us with refuge from disappointments and heartbreak and loss.—
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Yes, rookie draftees got playing opportunities but none was a standout, and the top two picks were closer to disappointments than successes.—
Noun
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Different tragedies, but the same grief for a community betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect and serve.—
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The book captures powerfully the rich possibilities that lie between integrity and despair, as Sybil reckons with the fallout of her life’s tragedies.—
Noun
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Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.—
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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.—
Noun
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Whereas much of the original play unfolds as a steady stream of callers to the Tesmans’ estate, DaCosta cleverly restages these various interpersonal calamities against the backdrop of a lavish party.—
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The piling on of hurdles, unforeseen challenges, and calamities is almost ridiculous.—
Cite this Entry
“Debacles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debacles. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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