climatic

[ klahy-mat-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to climate.
2. (of ecological phenomena) due to climate rather than to soil or topography.

Other Words From

• cli·mati·cal·ly adverb
• subcli·matic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of climatic¹

First recorded in 1820–30; climate + -ic

Example Sentences

It broadens the climatic impact of marine sulfur because it adds a new compound, methanethiol, that had previously gone unnoticed.

From Science Daily

Understanding the chaotic behavior of crop systems helps to improve yield predictions and inform adaptive farming practices for managing seasonal and climatic variability.

From Science Daily

A major warming spell, drier conditions, or both could explain that uptick, but there’s no evidence for a major climatic change at that time in the region, the researchers note.

From Science Magazine

If the FIA declares a change of climatic conditions, further changes can be made to make the car more suitable for wet weather.

From BBC

Though giant rodents, not to mention huge “rodent-like” mammals, have long since disappeared from South America after succumbing to climatic changes, and perhaps even human encroachment, capybaras and other smaller rodents are still with us.

From Salon

Related Words

• meteorological

Climatic Vs. Climactic

What’s the difference between climatic and climactic?

Climatic means relating to climate—the average atmospheric conditions that prevail in a given region over a long period of time—whether a place is generally cold and wet or hot and dry, for example. Climactic is used to describe things that involve or feel like a climax—the culmination or most intense part of a story or situation.

Climactic is used in situations in which a peak of some kind is being reached, such as a climactic ending of a movie. The word anticlimactic is used—perhaps more commonly—to mean the opposite, such as when you expect something exciting to happen but it doesn’t.

Climatic is not all that commonly used, especially because it has a much more narrow meaning. It’s typically used in scientific contexts involving climate and weather, like the climatic conditions of a region.

You can keep their spellings straight by remembering that climactic comes from climax, so it needs that c in replacement of the x before the ending -tic. Climatic, on the other hand, is basically climate plus the ending -ic (with the e having been dropped).

Here’s an example of climatic and climactic used correctly in a sentence.

Example: Many people have failed to recognize the danger of the change in climatic conditions because the change has been a relatively gradual one, rather than a dramatic, climactic spike—but that may soon change.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between climatic and climactic.

Quiz yourself on climatic vs. climactic!

Should climatic or climactic be used in the following sentence?

Someone knocked on the door right when the movie had reached its _____ moment.