anticlimactic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- anticlimactically adverb
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.
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
Even the announcement of the Ashes squad was an anticlimactic foreshadowing of things to come.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
After the Tut treasures, the rest of the museum, whose remaining 94,000-odd objects are spread over a dozen galleries in a mixed thematic and chronological display, can feel a touch anticlimactic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
It’s an anticlimactic return that feels more intended to scrub the remaining tarnish from her image than it does to induct her back into Vanderpump’s fold.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2025
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.
