as in apocalyptic
of, relating to, or being a major turning point
the French Revolution is usually regarded as one of the climactic events in modern European history
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Recent Examples of climactic
Mekhai Lee Emotionally impactful and technically impressive, THEM THAT’S NOT is a gratifying story ripe with moments of joy, a hint of mystery, and an earnest, heartwarming climactic scene.
—
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
And while the end result was once again pretty anti-climactic, there were actually some other notable things happening in episode 5 of Survivor 49, so let’s make like Nate and MC on the sandbags and get to work.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
There’s something particularly climactic about this year’s WNBA Finals, coming weeks before the league’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire and with most players becoming free agents in anticipation of a new leaguewide salary structure.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 10 Oct. 2025
And as the climactic ending of the novel shows, repression leads to terrible consequences.
—Mj Franklin, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for climactic
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
And while the end result was once again pretty anti-climactic, there were actually some other notable things happening in episode 5 of Survivor 49, so let’s make like Nate and MC on the sandbags and get to work.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
There’s something particularly climactic about this year’s WNBA Finals, coming weeks before the league’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire and with most players becoming free agents in anticipation of a new leaguewide salary structure.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 10 Oct. 2025
And as the climactic ending of the novel shows, repression leads to terrible consequences.
—Mj Franklin, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for climactic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for climactic
Adjective
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Such apocalyptic moods also characterize contemporaneous scores by Alfred Schnittke, Shostakovich’s contrarian successor.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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She can be seen starring as Lucy MacLean in the post-apocalyptic drama series Fallout for Amazon Prime Video.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Here’s a collection of our stories from the Dodgers’ most pivotal moments in 2025.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Midway through November, however, Chicago will face Minnesota again in what should be a pivotal matchup, and safety Jaquan Brisker is already prepared for it.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As in 2025, the US played a critical role in this first occupation—but in a very different way.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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China has agreed to allow the export of chips critical to auto production, averting widespread shutdowns that had been predicted by the industry.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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But a Dodgers win in Game 6 would force a decisive Game 7 and keep Los Angeles' back-to-back championship hopes alive.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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In the years since, the battle’s decisive tactics have been closely studied, but archaeologists from the University of Glasgow and the National Trust for Scotland recently discovered an array of physical relics from the deadly conflict.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Keeping high-ethylene producers away from climacteric fruits can keep them from ripening too quickly.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
15 July 2025
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For this reader, roughly the same age as Sam Raymond, there is uncommon pleasure in the paradoxes of this climacteric tale.—
Claire Messud,
Harper's Magazine,
22 June 2021
Adjective
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Like coral reefs, these oyster reefs played crucial ecological roles, providing habitat and nurseries for many other species and filtering vast volumes of water.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
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Bowen, Paqueta and Fullkrug are internationals for their respective countries and their experience in the crucial stages of the season could prove key.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Already, the government of Bangladesh has limited control over the country’s water supply because only about 7% of the watershed area of the Brahmaputra, Meghna and Ganges – the three main rivers that flow into the country – are within Bangladesh.—
Pintu Kumar Mahla,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
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Its release coincided with the 350th anniversary of Christiaan Huygens’ invention of the spiral spring, a watershed moment for watchmaking.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Climactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climactic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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