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Synonyms

rising action

American  
[rahy-zing ak-shuhn] / ˈraɪ zɪŋ ˈæk ʃən /

noun

  1. a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s just the preceding rising action that feels a bit underwhelming.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2024

Not so with Carano, a rising action star before she landed the plum role of former Rebel trooper Cara Dune in "The Mandalorian."

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2021

Next, the rising action fully develops the conflict.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

He meticulously plans his sets — each one has a beginning, establishing action, rising action, climax, falling action and ending, as he instructed his MasterClass — but knows how to read the room.

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2021

At the close of this scene Cassius lays his plans to win Brutus over to the conspiracy, and the complication, or rising action, of the drama begins.

From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Black, Ebenezer Charlton