Synonyms of climacteric

climacteric 1 of 2

adjective

klī-ˈmak-t(ə-)rik 

as in climactic

of, relating to, or being a major turning point

as the war reached its climacteric phase, the atrocities dramatically increased, both in number and brutality

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

climacteric

2 of 2

noun

as in climax

a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs

historians attempting to pinpoint the Roman Empire's climacteric, that precise moment when it began its long downhill slide

Synonyms & Similar Words

• climax
• milestone
• watershed
• landmark
• corner
• highlight
• milepost
• turning point
• crisis
• transformation
• metamorphosis
• exigency
• emergency
• extremity
• crusher
• conversion
• transfiguration
• conjuncture
• juncture
• turnabout
• clincher
• turnaround
• topper
• break
• capper
• clutch
• crunch
• crunch time
• boiling point
• zero hour
• flash point
• breaking point
• crossroad(s)
• Dunkirk
• head

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of climacteric

Adjective

Keeping high-ethylene producers away from climacteric fruits can keep them from ripening too quickly. — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 15 July 2025

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

Macerating unripe climacteric fruit in sugar, however, isn’t a substitute for ripening them; that just takes time in your kitchen counter’s fruit basket. — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 8 May 2017

Noun

These are called climacteric, and will respond to the presence of ethylene by producing more ethylene. — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 31 May 2022

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