NSW Selective & Scholarship

Learn “Debacle

A free exam-vocabulary guide with a precise meaning, natural context and a memory connection that makes the word easier to retrieve.

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NSW Selective & Scholarship

Debacle

noun/duh-BAH-kuhl/

A complete and often embarrassing failure or disaster.

Their plan to win the relay ended in a debacle after three dropped batons.

Debacle sounds like 'the tackle' gone wrong — a messy, total flop.

Use debacle for a big, messy failure, stronger than an ordinary mistake.