climax

A climax is the most intense, decisive point of something, especially in a story or film.

Content warning: this article contains language about sex.

We can ultimately thank Greek for the word climax, which literally means “ladder.”

The word is recorded in English as early as the 1530s and originally referred to a rhetorical device where ideas are arranged in a way that increase in intensity or importance.

By the 1640s, climax was referring to the culmination of something, such as a competition or story. Many literature students will know climax as the peak or pivotal moment in plays, as modeled by 19th-century German dramatist Gustav Freytag in his namesake, Freytag’s pyramid.

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Climax lent itself to sex by the 1870s, used in scientific literature for the orgasm of a person.

The opposite of a climax is an anticlimax, when something is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected—a letdown.

When something is considered a climax, it can be described as climactic. Same goes for anticlimax (i.e., anticlimactic).

Literature teachers and students will discuss climaxes when analyzing the plot or structure of a story. Climax also sees frequent use in discussion of films, especially their most exciting or significant parts.

At Holtzman's badass scene at the climax? Not gonna lie I literally teared up. This is the second time this happens at a badass moment.

— Alex✨ (@dirtbagboyfren) July 15, 2016

More generally, a climax can refer to the “high point” something has built up to (e.g., The climax of my week was the surprise office party on Friday).

Plenty of erotic novels or pornography titles may feature the word climax, though climax is generally considered inoffensive. In sexual contexts, climax is often used as a verb for “having an orgasm.”

More examples of climax:

“The only drawbacks of the film are its noticeable tendency to abruptly change from scene to scene for most of its run time, although it becomes slightly better toward the end, and a somewhat underwhelming climax — a chase between a fearful group of humans following the discovery of yeti existence.

Overall, the action scenes in “Smallfoot” are successful, but the climax falls short.”
—Alex Novak, Kent Wired, September 2018

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.