debacle
[noun]
Synonyms: disaster, catastrophe, collapse, defeat, fiasco, reversal, rout

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English Thesaurus: disaster, catastrophe, tragedy, debacle, earthquake, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

de‧ba‧cle , débâcle /deɪˈbɑːkəl, dɪ-/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: débâcle, from débâcler 'to remove a bar']
an event or situation that is a complete failure:
the debacle of the 1994 elections

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

disaster a sudden event such as an accident, or a natural event such as a flood or storm, which causes great damage or suffering:
200 people died in the train disaster.
The earthquake was the worst natural disaster to hit India for over 50 years.
catastrophe a terrible event in which there is a lot of destruction, damage, suffering, or death over a wide area of the world:
A large comet hitting the earth would be a catastrophe.
We don’t want another nuclear catastrophe like Chernobyl.
Scientists say that the oil spill is an ecological catastrophe.
tragedy a very sad event, that shocks people because it involves death:
It was a tragedy that he died so young.
the AIDS tragedy in Africa
debacle an event or situation that is a complete failure and is very embarrassing:
The opening ceremony turned into a debacle.
The team is hoping to do better this game, after last week’s debacle against the Chicago Bears.
earthquake a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage:
A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
It was the biggest earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest for 52 years.
flood a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry:
Bangladesh has been hit by a series of devastating floods (=very bad floods).
The crisis began with floods that covered one third of the countryside.
drought a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live:
The country experienced its worst drought this century.
In East Africa, three years of drought have left 10 million people in urgent need of food and water.
famine a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die:
Poor harvests led to famine.
4,000,000 people are threatened by famine in northern Ethiopia.
hurricane a storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water – used about storms in the North Atlantic Ocean:
extreme weather such as hurricanes
Hurricane Andrew left southern Florida in ruins.
typhoon a violent tropical storm – used about storms in the Western Pacific Ocean:
A typhoon has hit the Philippines, lifting roofs off houses and uprooting trees.
tsunami a very large wave, caused by extreme conditions such as an earthquake, which can cause a lot of damage when it reaches land:
Thousands of people were killed in the tsunami.
Many Pacific earthquakes have generated tsunamis.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

failure noun [countable] someone or something that is not successful:
The book was a complete failure.
I felt a complete failure.
flop noun [countable] informal something that is not successful because people do not like it – used especially about a film, play, product, or performance:
Despite the hype, the movie was a flop at the box office.
Their next computer was a flop.
disaster noun [countable] used when saying that something is extremely unsuccessful:
Our first date was a disaster.
Their marriage was a total disaster.
fiasco noun [countable usually singular] something that is completely unsuccessful and goes very badly wrong – used especially about things that have been officially planned, which go very wrong:
The baggage system broke down on the first day the airport was open. It was a complete fiasco.
The fiasco came close to ending de Gaulle's political career.
debacle noun [countable usually singular] formal an event or situation that is a complete failure, because it does not happen in the way that it was officially planned:
the banking debacle that has put our economy at risk
shambles noun [singular] especially British English if a situation or event is a shambles, it is completely unsuccessful because it has been very badly planned or organized, and no one seems to know what to do:
The first few shows were a shambles, but things soon got better.
washout noun [singular] informal a failure – used when something is so bad that it would be better if it had not happened:
The play wasn’t a complete washout; the acting was okay.
His most recent and ambitious project, a big-budget Hollywood film, was a washout with both critics and audiences alike.
turkey noun [countable] informal something that is so bad and unsuccessful that you think the people involved should be embarrassed about it – a very informal use:
At the time most people thought the car was a complete turkey.
Since then he has appeared in a string of turkeys.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲