Synonyms of climactic

climactic

adjective

klī-ˈmak-tik 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• apocalyptic
• pivotal
• critical
• highest
• decisive
• climacteric
• culminating
• crucial
• watershed
• high
• fateful
• crowning
• epochal
• life-and-death
• momentous
• apical
• meridian
• earthshaking
• crestal
• crossover
• payoff
• vital
• make-or-break
• apogean
• deciding
• cataclysmal
• go-no-go

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• trivial
• anticlimactic
• unimportant
• insignificant
• inconsequential
• indecisive
• noncritical

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of climactic

Fans continue to ask Carney about Hadestown’s climactic moment, when Orpheus dooms Eurydice forever by turning to look at her on the road back from hell. — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026

The show opens by foreshadowing a past disaster involving the lighting fixture at the Paris Opéra House, which comes to fruition at the end of Act 1 when the titular Phantom sends it crashing in a climactic fit of rage. — Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026

Eight years later, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon — a remarkable achievement that was the climactic moment of the Cold War space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 4 July 2026

One issue at play was the climactic fight, which was reconfigured. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026