debacle

noun

a sound defeat

flooding caused by a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river during the spring or summer

a sudden and violent collapse

Roots

desde- · French · un-, away baclerbacle- · French · to bar, block

Synonyms for debacle

disastern catastrophen drubbingn downfalln failuren collapsen thrashingn trouncingn cataclysmn

Synonyms & related words for debacle

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of debacle — including disaster, catastrophe, drubbing, downfall, failure, collapse. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to debacle

Explore words related to debacle — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include fiasco, fiaschi, disastrous, meltdown, snafu, screwup, calamity, embroglio. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for debacle

Common synonyms for debacle include disaster, catastrophe, drubbing, downfall, failure, collapse, thrashing, trouncing — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does debacle come from?

The word debacle breaks down into 2 roots of French origin: de-, from French des (“un-, away”); and bacle, from French bacler (“to bar, block”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.