catacosmesis

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noun

A descending order from best, greatest, etc. to worst, lowest, etc.

Similar
anticlimaxclimaxchronological orderarrangement
Opposite
climax
OriginAncient Greek κατακόσμησις →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nouncatacosmesis (uncountable)
  1. A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in "proper order", particularly
    1. rhetoricuncountableA descending order from best, greatest, etc. to worst, lowest, etc.

      Synonyms: anticlimax

    2. rhetoricuncountableA chronological order from first to last.
    3. obsoleterhetoricuncountableimpreciseAn ascending order from worst, lowest, etc. to best, greatest, etc; a climax.

      Synonyms: climax

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA descending order from best, greatest, etc. to worst, lowest, etc.

Similar
anticlimax

nounAn ascending order from worst, lowest, etc. to best, greatest, etc; a climax.

Similar
climax

temporal series

Similar
chronological orderarrangement

antonym(s) of “descending series”

Opposite
climax
Also see
climax

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκατακόσμησις“arrangement”
  2. Englishcatacosmesis

From the Latin form of the Ancient Greek κατακόσμησις (katakósmēsis, “arrangement”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

catacosmesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catacosmesis

MLA

“catacosmesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catacosmesis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “catacosmesis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catacosmesis.

Source: catacosmesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.