culmination

summit, peak, pinnacle, climax, apex, acme, culmination mean the highest point attained or attainable. summit implies the topmost level attainable.

• • at the summit of the Victorian social scene

peak suggests the highest among other high points.

• • an artist working at the peak of her powers

pinnacle suggests a dizzying and often insecure height.

• • the pinnacle of worldly success

climax implies the highest point in an ascending series.

• • the war was the climax to a series of hostile actions

apex implies the point where all ascending lines converge.

• • the apex of Dutch culture

acme implies a level of quality representing the perfection of a thing.

• • a statue that was once deemed the acme of beauty

culmination suggests the outcome of a growth or development representing an attained objective.

• • the culmination of years of effort