débâcle
\de.bɑkl\
The verdict
“débâcle” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #24,186 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #24,186
- frequency rank, French
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rupture, ordinairement subite, de la glace qui couvrait un cours d’eau et qui se partage alors en glaçons dont la descente est plus ou moins rapide.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | débâcle |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \de.bɑkl\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #24,186 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “débâcle” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for débâcle is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.bɑkl\. Corpus data places it at rank #24,186 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for débâcle, with forms such as "dbéâcle", "ddébâcle", and "debacle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "débile", "dédale", "décale", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is débâcle, spelled D-É-B-Â-C-L-E.
Definition
- 1Rupture, ordinairement subite, de la glace qui couvrait un cours d’eau et qui se partage alors en glaçons dont la descente est plus ou moins rapide.
- 2Tout changement brusque et inattendu qui amène du désordre, de la confusion.
- 3Nom donné à la déroute de l'armée française face à l’armée allemande, en mai-juin 1940.
- 4Débâclage.
- 5Décharge subite du ventre.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dbéâcle,ddébâcle,debacle,débbâcle,débcâle,débâccle,débâcel,débâclle,débâlce,déâbcle,édbâcle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of débâcle - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "débâcle"?
What does "débâcle" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "débâcle"?
How do you pronounce "débâcle"?
What language does "débâcle" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “débâcle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is D-É-B-Â-C-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \de.bɑkl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “débile” - see the side-by-side comparison. débâcle vs débile
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.