Noun: debacle dee'baa-kul or di'baa-kul or dey'baa-kul
- A disastrous or embarrassing failure
"The product launch turned into a complete debacle";
- fiasco, débâcle
- A sound defeat
"The home team experienced a complete debacle, losing 10-0";
- thrashing, walloping, drubbing [informal], slaughter, trouncing, whipping, pasting [informal], hammering [informal], débâcle, beatdown [N. Amer], smackdown [N. Amer, informal], licking [informal]
- Flooding caused by a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river during the spring or summer
"The spring debacle caused widespread flooding along the river valley";
- débâcle
Derived forms: debacles, débâcles
Type of: alluvion, collapse, defeat, deluge, flood, inundation
Encyclopedia: Debacle