Adjacent Words

fiasco definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sudden and violent collapse [syn: debacle, fiasco]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural -coes) Etymology: French, from Italian, from fare fiasco, literally, to make a bottle Date: circa 1854 a complete failure II. noun (plural -coes; also fiaschi) Etymology: Italian, from Late Latin flasco bottle — more at flask Date: 1887 bottle, flask; especially a bulbous long-necked straw-covered bottle for wine

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -os) a ludicrous or humiliating failure or breakdown (orig. in a dramatic or musical performance); an ignominious result. Etymology: It., = bottle (with unexplained allusion): see FLASK

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fiasco Fi*as"co, n.; pl. Fiascoes. [It.] A complete or ridiculous failure, esp. of a musical performance, or of any pretentious undertaking.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fiascos) If you describe an event or attempt to do something as a fiasco, you are emphasizing that it fails completely. The blame for the Charleston fiasco did not lie with him... It was a bit of a fiasco. = debacle N-COUNT: usu with supp [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [It.] Failure, fizzle, abortive attempt, ignominious failure.

Moby Thesaurus

abortion, bafflement, balk, betrayed hope, blasted expectation, blighted hope, blow, bollix, botch, buffet, bungle, comedown, cruel disappointment, dash, dashed hope, defeat, disappointment, disaster, discomfiture, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, failure, fallen countenance, fizzle, flop, flunk, foiling, foozle, forlorn hope, frustration, hash, hope deferred, letdown, mess, mirage, muddle, setback, sore disappointment, tantalization, tease, washout