anticlimax

noun

an·​ti·​cli·​max

ˌan-tē-ˈklī-ˌmaks,

ˌan-ˌtī- 

1

: the usually sudden transition in discourse from a significant idea to a trivial or ludicrous idea

also : an instance of this transition

2

: an event, period, or outcome that is strikingly less important or dramatic than expected

Examples of anticlimax in a Sentence

The last chapter of the book was an anticlimax.

The movie ended in anticlimax.

Recent Examples on the Web

The anticlimax preemptively lowers the stakes of this new conflict, though Linklater makes for a gleefully sinister blank slate. —Alison Herman, Variety, 15 Sep. 2025

This Is Spinal Tap was an almost-clinical study in anticlimax, in rock-and-roll humiliation. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025

Still, in the warped logic of conspiracy culture, that anticlimax didn’t kill the narrative. —Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2025

Not that anyone really said that in the two-and-a-half-hour community-board meeting, which ended — unsurprisingly — in an anticlimax. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 11 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1696, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for anticlimax

• counterattacks
• hemothorax
• mesothorax
• metathorax
• pneumothorax
• almanacs
• carrybacks
• haversacks
• lumberjacks
• maniacs
• microcracks
• minimax

Kids Definition

anticlimax

noun

an·​ti·​cli·​max ˌant-i-ˈklī-ˌmaks 

1

: a shift in writing or speaking from an important idea to an unimportant or silly one

2

: an event, result, or ending that is strikingly less important than expected

anticlimactic

-klī-ˈmak-tik

-klə-

adjective