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climactic
[ klahy-mak-tik ]
climactic
/ klaɪˈmæktɪkəl; klaɪˈmæktɪk /
adjective
- consisting of, involving, or causing a climax
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Usage
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Derived Forms
- cliˈmactically, adverb
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Other Words From
- cli·macti·cal·ly adverb
- noncli·mactic adjective
- noncli·macti·cal adjective
- uncli·mactic adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of climactic1
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Example Sentences
Shooting for something magicalIn a nod to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, the performance was to be punctuated at its two most climactic moments by the firing of a small, antique cannon.
It was an invitation to release and an official closing of such a climactic experience.
These interconnected shows, along with future stories, will excite new audiences, embrace our most passionate fans, and will culminate in a climactic story event.
An authoritarian who is also, unsurprisingly, a run-first play-caller, Kilmer is ultimately thrown off the team by the players and is not on the sideline for West Canaan High School’s climactic win.
All in all, Saturday night’s pay-per-view proceedings were a smashing success despite the final result, an anti-climactic draw in front of a nearly empty Staples Center amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
When he chooses to cap a climactic chase seen with yet another baffling fall, we feel cheated.
An anti-climactic end is not the World Cup storyline that English fans anticipated.
It was an anti-climactic interlude in a trial that has had many moments of drama.
A new study from France says some women experience climactic pleasure during labor.
At a climactic moment in the scene, Wilson realizes his cousin Ruggles is of mixed race.
It is striking just now to notice the double key-note of that closing climactic book of this old Bible.
And a climactic treasure hunt among the subterranean Martian labyrinths.
Maybe the fourth or the eighth step will be "climactic" steps, especially arranged to make a climax in the dance and win applause.
So we put a climactic "trick" step in for a finish, and then we top that with the exit, and the exit must be a surprise.
The subjective is in order to the objective, as the final outward climactic reach of God's great love-plan for a world.
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Climactic Vs. Climatic
What’s the difference between climactic and climatic?
Climactic is used to describe things that involve or feel like a climax—the culmination or most intense part of a story or situation. Climatic means relating to climate—the average atmospheric conditions that prevail in a given region over a long period of time—whether a place is generally cold and wet or hot and dry, for example.
Climactic is used in situations in which a peak of some kind is being reached, such as a climactic ending of a movie. The word anticlimactic is used—perhaps more commonly—to mean the opposite, such as when you expect something exciting to happen but it doesn’t.
Climatic is not all that commonly used, especially because it has a much more narrow meaning. It’s typically used in scientific contexts involving climate and weather.
You can keep their spellings straight by remembering that climactic comes from climax, so it needs that c in replacement of the x before the ending -tic. Climatic, on the other hand, is basically climate plus the -ic ending (with the e having been dropped).
Here’s an example of climactic and climatic used correctly in a sentence.
Example: Many people have failed to recognize the danger of the change in climatic conditions because the change has been a relatively gradual one, rather than a dramatic, climactic spike—but that may soon change.
Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between climactic and climatic.
Quiz yourself on climactic vs. climatic!
Should climactic or climatic be used in the following sentence?
Someone knocked on the door right when the movie had reached its _____ moment.
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