debacle
基本释义
[noun] a sudden and ignominious failure; a fiasco
[名词] 突然且耻辱的失败;惨败
深入解读
Debacle 是一个最近常出现在外刊上用来形容美军撤离阿富汗的词,比如本周《经济学人》的封面就写着“Biden’s debacle: What it means for Afghanistan and America”。
该词源自法语 débâcle (本义指“淌凌”,引申指“溃退、崩溃、瓦解、覆灭”),1802年进入英语后,最初用来表示其字面意思指河流等“解冻、凌汛泛滥”,并在地理学中用来解释冰川时代留下的地形地貌。
等到了1848年后,则开始用来表示其引申义指“大败、惨败、崩溃、垮台、大灾难”以及军队等的“溃败、溃散”,尤指因计划和组织不周而导致的突然且耻辱的彻底失败或一败涂地,比如:
- 败军在溃逃时有很多人被击毙或俘虏。官方公布的死亡人数现已达900人。
Many men were shot or captured in the debacle. The official death toll has now reached 900. - 经历了这场战争的惨败之后,他们被劝服,认识到了和平的好处。
After the debacle of the war they have been persuaded of the merits of peace.
说到这里,难免联想起词典里紧挨着 debacle 的 debag 来,该词常出现在英式口语中指“脱去……的裤子”以作惩罚或恶作剧。这两者可以一并联想记忆,毕竟都不是什么很光彩的事。
另外值得注意的是,英式英语中也直接将其拼成法语 débâcle 使用。
影视例句
We got to retrieve something from this debacle.
我们得从这次惨败中收回点什么。
出自2005年上映的美国冒险电影《金刚》(King Kong)。
外刊例句
- But the crisis at WeWork, a trendy office-rental firm whose boss, Adam Neumann, stepped down this week after its attempt to float its shares turned into a debacle, shows that businesses are still struggling to come up with a new format.
但是,时髦的办公空间租赁公司 WeWork 的危机显示,企业在寻找新办公模式的路上仍然彷徨不定。近日,在 WeWork 上市的尝试大败后,公司首席执行官亚当·诺伊曼宣布辞职。
——《经济学人》 - The debacle in Pocatello was a very large hit.
在波卡特洛的惨败是非常大的打击。
——《纽约时报》
常见短语
与”debacle“(溃败,失败)相关的短语:
- Financial debacle: 金融崩溃
- Political debacle: 政治失败
- Economic debacle: 经济崩溃
- Electoral debacle: 选举惨败
- Military debacle: 军事溃败
- Diplomatic debacle: 外交失败
- Environmental debacle: 环境灾难
- Cultural debacle: 文化瓦解
- Management debacle: 管理灾难
- Public relations debacle: 公共关系失败
- Social media debacle: 社交媒体丑闻
- Legal debacle: 法律灾难
- Technology debacle: 技术失败
- Educational debacle: 教育惨败
- Healthcare debacle: 医疗灾难
- Sporting debacle: 体育惨败
- Corporate debacle: 公司崩溃
- Infrastructure debacle: 基础设施灾难
- Policy debacle: 政策失败
- PR (public relations) debacle: 公关丑闻
- Banking debacle: 银行崩溃
- Housing market debacle: 住房市场崩溃
- Governmental debacle: 政府失败
- Cybersecurity debacle: 网络安全灾难
- Stock market debacle: 股市崩盘
- Educational system debacle: 教育体系失败
- International trade debacle: 国际贸易惨败
- Environmental policy debacle: 环境政策失败
- Transportation system debacle: 交通系统崩溃
- Media coverage debacle: 媒体报道丑闻
- Energy crisis debacle: 能源危机灾难
- Humanitarian crisis debacle: 人道主义危机失败
- Cultural exchange debacle: 文化交流失败
- Human rights debacle: 人权灾难
- Immigration policy debacle: 移民政策失败
- Foreign aid debacle: 外援灾难
- Natural disaster response debacle: 自然灾害响应失败
- Public safety debacle: 公共安全灾难
- Ethical debacle: 道德危机
- Manufacturing industry debacle: 制造业惨败
- Resource management debacle: 资源管理灾难
- Tourism industry debacle: 旅游业失败
- Cultural heritage debacle: 文化遗产危机
- Global health crisis debacle: 全球健康危机失败
- Market speculation debacle: 市场投机灾难
- Airline industry debacle: 航空业崩溃
- Food safety debacle: 食品安全灾难
- Celebrity scandal debacle: 名人丑闻
- Nuclear power debacle: 核能危机
- Cyber attack debacle: 网络攻击灾难
深度学习
debacle (de BAHK ul or de BAK ul) This noun is slightly different from “travesty” although the consequences are the same. There is no element of mockery here; it means “a sudden, disastrous downfall” or “defeat.”
•After the debacle at Gettysburg, the Confederate army never again crossed the Mason-Dixon line.
•In 1943, the German army in Russia was trapped in a hopeless debacle of their own making.
——摘自《Fiske WordPower: The Most Effective System for Building a Vocabulary That Gets Results Fast》
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崩溃(de BAHK ul或de BAK ul)这个名词与“滑稽”略有不同,尽管后果相同。这里没有嘲笑的成分;它意味着“突然的、灾难性的失败”或“失败”
•在葛底斯堡大溃败后,南部邦联军队再也没有越过梅森-迪克森防线。
•1943年,驻俄罗斯的德军陷入了自己制造的无望的溃败。
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同近义词
rout: a decisive defeat
fiasco: a thing that is a complete failure, especially in a ludicrous or humiliating way
disaster: a person or thing that is a complete failure