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Synonyms

rising action

American  
[rahy-zing ak-shuhn] / ˈraɪ zɪŋ ˈæk ʃən /

noun

  • rising actions
    plural
  1. a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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.

See Examples For:

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

It’s just the preceding rising action that feels a bit underwhelming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024

His recent work delved into the “narrative identities” patients formed around the illness—that is, the way they view the arc of their life, the stuff that counts as important exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2022

Next, the rising action fully develops the conflict.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

At the close of this scene Cassius lays his plans to win Brutus over to the conspiracy, and the complication, or rising action, of the drama begins.

From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Ebenezer Charlton Black

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