Meanings
comparative more climactic · superlative most climactic
- Of, pertaining to, or constituting a climax; reaching a decisive moment or point of greatest excitement.
The race ended in a climactic, neck-and-neck scramble for the finish line.
3 more examples
... and the ending (within the last 50-ish pages) is simply incredible; very climactic.
2011 December 13, Antony Jones, “Book review of 'Elantris' by Brandon Sanderson”, in SF BookAnd in Paris, Wick has a meeting with the Marquis, the Eiffel Tower providing a picturesque backdrop. A big, climactic scene is set on the steps and in the shadow of Sacré-Coeur.
2023 March 14, Caryn James, “John Wick: Chapter 4: 'Soars above most action films'”, in BBCThen we went to General Hospital, which is a very climactic sound. And we ended it with the best, Days of our Lives.
2024 May 31, Janet di Lauro, “DAYS’s Elia Cantu Reveals The Backstory of Her Musical Performance”, in Soap Opera Digest
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveconsisting of or causing a climax
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From climax + -ic on analogy of syntactic.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch climactisch
- climactischTranslations
German klimaktisch
- klimaktischTranslations
Polish klimaksowy
- klimaksowyTranslations
Cite this entry
climactic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/climactic
“climactic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/climactic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “climactic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/climactic.
Source: climactic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.