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.
Though Powell took pains to discuss the central bank’s independence and other big-picture topics, the end to his Fed term seemed fairly anticlimactic.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 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
Even the announcement of the Ashes squad was an anticlimactic foreshadowing of things to come.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
So dynamic and so boisterous is the experience of the entrance that the rest of the building cannot help but feel anticlimactic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
And so I treated the swearing-in ceremony like it was a movie with an exhaustingly slow build and an anticlimactic ending.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
