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View synonyms for climax
climax
[ klahy-maks ]
noun
- the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination:
His career reached its climax when he was elected president.
- (in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
- Rhetoric.
- a figure consisting of a series of related ideas so arranged that each surpasses the preceding in force or intensity.
- the last term or member of this figure.
- an orgasm.
- Ecology. the stable and self-perpetuating end stage in the ecological succession or evolution of a plant and animal community.
verb (used with or without object)
- to bring to or reach a climax.
climax
/ ˈklaɪmæks /
noun
- the most intense or highest point of an experience or of a series of events
the party was the climax of the week
- a decisive moment in a dramatic or other work
- a rhetorical device by which a series of sentences, clauses, or phrases are arranged in order of increasing intensity
- ecology the stage in the development of a community during which it remains stable under the prevailing environmental conditions
- Also calledsexual climax (esp in referring to women) another word for orgasm
verb
- to reach or bring to a climax
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Other Words From
- hyper·climax noun
- un·climaxed adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of climax1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin, from Greek klîmax “ladder,” akin to klī́nein “to lean”
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Word History and Origins
Origin of climax1
C16: from Late Latin, from Greek klimax ladder
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