Literary notes about Debacle (AI summary)
In literature, the word "debacle" is used to denote a dramatic and often catastrophic collapse, whether that failure is political, military, or personal. Writers employ it to evoke the sense of an overwhelming breakdown of order or confidence, as seen in historical narratives of warfare and political missteps [1, 2, 3] or in the account of financial and administrative disasters [4, 5, 6]. The term also finds a place in more intimate contexts when describing individual crises or moral failures, capturing moments when accumulated doubts or errors burst forth uncontrollably [7, 8, 9]. By using "debacle" in these varying settings—from the decisive end of battles to the unraveling of personal characters—the word becomes a versatile metaphor for total disintegration and ruin, effectively heightening the narrative tension throughout diverse genres [10, 11, 12].
- 1918—The Debacle. 1943—The Great Unity.”
— from Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremburg, 14 November 1945-1 October 1946, Volume 7 by Various - LA DEBACLE Matamoros had fallen in July, 1866.
— from Maximilian in Mexico: A Woman's Reminiscences of the French Intervention 1862-1867 by Sara Yorke Stevenson - The debacle of 1870 seemed a just if tragic retribution.
— from Tennyson and His Friends - Preliminary estimates place the cost of this debacle at between $800 Million and $2 Billion if the entire 737 fleet is grounded for only 2 weeks.
— from Terminal Compromise by Winn Schwartau - Roumania had long been utterly overrun, Austria given a new lease of life, and Russia's debacle completed.
— from The War History of the 4th Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), 1914-1919 by F. Clive Grimwade - In the Baltic the situation became very difficult owing first to the Russian revolution and, finally, to the Russian debacle.
— from The Crisis of the Naval War by John Rushworth Jellicoe - But Zulannah had a good reason for clinging to life, in spite of the greatness of her debacle.
— from The Hawk of Egypt by Joan Conquest - And within him there was a sort of debacle ; all his doubts, all his anguish and sadness burst forth in an irresistible stream.
— from The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteLourdes, Rome and Paris by Émile Zola - "This is the beginning of your moral debacle," said he.
— from A Daughter of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland - The retreat became a “debacle,” only ending on the shores of the Manukau, where at Paruroa (Big Muddy Creek) Kiwi fell.
— from The City of Auckland, New Zealand, 1840-1920 by John Barr - A few paces was sufficient to bring about a debacle in the column; packs slipped, and the men were detailed to fall out and reload the mules.
— from The History of the Prince of Wales' Civil Service Rifles by Anonymous - When this weakened dam at last gave way, it must have produced a debacle grand in the extreme.
— from Earth Features and Their MeaningAn Introduction to Geology for the Student and the General Reader by William Herbert Hobbs
