climactic
/klʌɪˈmaktɪk
/adjective
Acting as a culmination or resolution to a series of events; forming an exciting climax: the film’s climactic scenes...
- She appeared in more than a few slasher movies, always the young heroine who outsmarts the killer in a climactic final chase scene.
- And the final climactic emotional moment is cringe inducing rather than searingly moving.
- The World Cup is one coherent drama with developing conflict, mounting tension and a climactic resolution.
Synonyms
final, culminating, ending, finishing, closing, concluding, ultimate;
exciting, thrilling, stirring, action-packed, gripping, riveting, dramatic, hair-raising;
crucial, decisive, deciding, critical, momentous
Usage
Climactic and climatic are very similar in spelling and are often confused. Climactic means ‘forming a climax’, as in the film’s climactic scene, while climatic means ‘relating to climate’, as in prevailing climatic conditions.
Derivatives
climactically
- When they converge in the middle to symbolise the cross, mood changes from meditative to climactically vehement.
- Here the scale and repeated notes from bar 4 climactically return.
- But not so in opera, where legato in a favourite aria can still an audience and then climactically bring it to its feet over the full spectrum of human emotions.
Origin
Late 19th century: formed irregularly from climax + -ic, probably influenced by climacteric.
Rhymes
- world-life
- worldlify
- worldlihood
- world-like
- worldlily
- world line
- worldliness
- worldling
- world literature
- world love
- worldly
- worldly goods (or possessions or wealth)
- worldly-minded
- worldly-mindedness
- worldly wisdom
- worldly-wise
- worldly wiseman
- World Meteorological Organization
- world model
- world music
- world order
- world phone
- world point
- world-political
- world politician