anticlimactic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anticlimactic
Explanation
When something seems like it's going to be exciting but then it lets you down, that's anticlimactic. An anticlimactic fireworks display would be brief and boring, with subdued pops of muted sparkles. The Greek root of anticlimactic means "down a ladder," and that's exactly how it feels to experience something anticlimactic, as if you expected to go higher but you're suddenly near the bottom of the ladder. In a scary movie, as the hero moves closer to the creepy basement door while terrifying music plays, it will be a bit anticlimactic if the door swings open to reveal a mewing kitten.
Vocabulary lists containing anticlimactic
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: ant-, anti-
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Nickel and Dimed
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: ant, anti
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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.
I can’t really wrap my head around the magnitude of this moment, but it just seems so, so appropriate to have such a climactic moment in my life arrive in somewhat anticlimactic fashion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
And what about the potentially anticlimactic matter that enslaved people in Texas may already have known they were free, if only technically?
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
It was an anticlimactic end to a legal and political horror story: On Monday the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
For those who don’t follow industry shenanigans too closely, this result seemed to land as a bit of an anticlimactic “Who?”
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2026
Running away from home would be anticlimactic after Mexico, and a dull story after my month in the car lot.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
