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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of climacteric
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
Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 31 May 2022
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for climacteric
Adjective
-
So what is preventing this big climactic battle from happening now?—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
-
During the film’s climactic fight sequence — shot over five punishing days — MacPherson tore his adductor muscle off the bone, fractured his pelvis, and broke his nose.—
Sean Sennett,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That climax is sufficiently creepy.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Biff shouts at him at the show’s excruciating climax) sways between light and dark, between the road and the deadly shoulder, advancing through his last hours on earth as if through the stations of the cross.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The film Project Hail Mary has just blasted past the milestone of $400 million revenue globally and is generating early Oscar buzz.—
Tara Haelle,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2026
-
In recent months, Rumen noted, about 200,000 people dropped from the emergency phase to the acute one, a significant milestone.—
Evens Sanon,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
They are also filled with apocalyptic premonitions that make sense only in a first-century context, when Jesus was credibly thought by his followers to soon be on his way back home, ready to take believers up to Heaven, or the moon, with him.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The apocalyptic religious zealots who ran the Iranian police state were on the verge of complete construction of a nuclear bomb.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For decades, activists and ecologists have fought to take advantage of our watershed for recreational and community life, with remarkable success.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Murillo also highlighted the broader environmental consequences, noting that the affected region lies within the Venezuelan Amazon and includes key watersheds that feed into the Amazon basin.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Lebanon's top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah's decision to fire rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The Gulf is building the entire cake, and the region’s governments will not abandon their most critical layers simply because the geopolitical temperature has risen.—
Winston Ma,
semafor.com,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 2010, Argentina passed a landmark law banning all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones — areas of frozen ground that act as vital water regulators.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Despite publicly positioning itself as a sustainable fashion brand and releasing climate reports every year, two landmark publications from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2019 threw the company’s entire climate strategy into doubt.—
Bella Webb,
Vogue,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The roots of the day, also celebrated as International Workers Day, go back over a century to a turbulent and pivotal time in labor history.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Plenty of old faces return for brief scenes while new faces play more pivotal roles (including Anthony Timpano as Jamie, an infant in the original series, and Vaughan Murrae as Kelly, the result of Lois’ series-finale pregnancy reveal).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Climacteric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climacteric. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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