anticlimactic

adjective

an·​ti·​cli·​mac·​tic ˌan-tē-klī-ˈmak-tik 

-klə-, 

ˌan-ˌtī- 

variants or less commonly anticlimactical

ˌan-tē-klī-ˈmak-ti-kəl, 

ˌan-ˌtī- 

: of, relating to, or marked by anticlimax

anticlimactically

ˌan-tē-klī-ˈmak-ti-ti-k(ə-)lē, 

ˌan-ˌtī- 

adverb

Examples of anticlimactic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So, Alamo decides to kill Rue in an uncharacteristically anticlimactic fashion — by giving her painkillers laced with fentanyl and trusting that the addict will be tempted enough to swallow them. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 1 June 2026

The final Saturday of the regular season will feel more like Week 18 in the NFL — extremely relevant for a few teams, anticlimactic for everyone else. —Austin Meek, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Rarely has a document been at once as mysterious and anticlimactic as the Democratic National Committee’s autopsy of what went wrong in the 2024 election, which, after much drama and angst, was finally published on Thursday. —Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 29 May 2026

As far as Big Reveals go, Agnes’s parentage is extraordinarily anticlimactic. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for anticlimactic

• anaphylactic
• extragalactic
• intergalactic
• stereotactic
• chemotactic
• chiropractic
• isotactic
• prophylactic
• climactic
• didactic
• galactic
• syntactic