wash ‧ out /ˈwɒʃ-aʊt $ ˈwɒːʃ-, ˈwɑːʃ-/ BrE AmE noun [countable] informal
1 . a failure:
The picnic was a total washout – nobody turned up!
2 . an occasion when heavy rain causes damage or stops an event from happening
⇨ wash out at ↑ wash 1
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THESAURUS
▪ failure noun [countable] someone or something that is not successful:
The book was a complete failure.
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I felt a complete failure.
▪ flop noun [countable] informal something that is not successful because people do not like it – used especially about a film, play, product, or performance:
Despite the hype, the movie was a flop at the box office.
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Their next computer was a flop.
▪ disaster noun [countable] used when saying that something is extremely unsuccessful:
Our first date was a disaster.
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Their marriage was a total disaster.
▪ fiasco noun [countable usually singular] something that is completely unsuccessful and goes very badly wrong – used especially about things that have been officially planned, which go very wrong:
The baggage system broke down on the first day the airport was open. It was a complete fiasco.
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The fiasco came close to ending de Gaulle's political career.
▪ debacle noun [countable usually singular] formal an event or situation that is a complete failure, because it does not happen in the way that it was officially planned:
the banking debacle that has put our economy at risk
▪ shambles noun [singular] especially British English if a situation or event is a shambles, it is completely unsuccessful because it has been very badly planned or organized, and no one seems to know what to do:
The first few shows were a shambles, but things soon got better.
▪ washout noun [singular] informal a failure – used when something is so bad that it would be better if it had not happened:
The play wasn’t a complete washout; the acting was okay.
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His most recent and ambitious project, a big-budget Hollywood film, was a washout with both critics and audiences alike.
▪ turkey noun [countable] informal something that is so bad and unsuccessful that you think the people involved should be embarrassed about it – a very informal use:
At the time most people thought the car was a complete turkey.
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Since then he has appeared in a string of turkeys.