falling action
Americannoun
Usage
What is falling action? Falling action is what happens near the end of a story after the climax and resolution of the major conflict. The majority of literary and dramatic works (stories, novels, plays, movies) are built on action—characters doing things, typically pursuing things they want. The climax (the most intense part of the story, often a turning point or a conclusion to the conflict) is preceded by rising action and followed by falling action. Simply put, falling action is what the characters are doing after the story’s most dramatic part has happened. You can see falling action in action (see what we did there?) in just about any form of narrative. And being able to identify it and the other structural elements of a story can help you craft compelling stories of your own.
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.
In short, there is no rising action, no climax, no falling action . . . which is no way to tell a story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
In the falling action, the conflict begins to be resolved, and the tension lessens.
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
They also follow a pattern: there is the introduction, rising action, a climax, a complication, falling action, and then a conclusion and resolution.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2019
The orations of Antony, in vivid contrast to the conciliatory but unimpassioned speeches of Brutus, fire the people and liberate fresh forces in the falling action.
From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Ebenezer Charlton Black
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.
