climactic

adjective

klī-ˈmak-tik How to pronounce climactic (audio)
Definition of climacticnext
as in apocalyptic
of, relating to, or being a major turning point the French Revolution is usually regarded as one of the climactic events in modern European history

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of climactic Still, that climactic scene in the saga was dramatic enough to prompt a meeting Wednesday morning, and Waddell included director of player personnel Rick Nash in the discussion. — Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 2 July 2026 Angèle, the makeup artist, has been writing a real-life account of her observations at work, and her writings apostrophize the action, most extensively during a climactic scene in which the staging of the runway show falls prey to bad weather. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 June 2026 The ending of van Dongen’s journey was decidedly anti-climactic. — Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026 The second season had 8 episodes, compared with 10 in the first season—a decision that pushed some climactic battles into the third season. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for climactic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for climactic
  1. apocalyptic
  2. pivotal
  3. critical
  4. decisive
  5. climacteric
  6. crucial
  7. watershed
Adjective
  • The ones from Gunnar adopt a post-apocalyptic vibe or bring players closer to their favorite video game character.
    — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
  • The apocalyptic horror comedy Zombieland (2009) was a box office hit.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 4 July 2026
Definition of apocalyptic
Adjective
  • Defense experts and strategists have described its drone campaign as pivotal in helping to stall Russia’s military momentum, while also warning that Kyiv’s deep-strike successes have drastically raised the risk of escalation.
    — Katie Foley, CNBC, 10 July 2026
  • Go behind the scenes with Forbes Under 30 founders, creators and musicians—and the investors and mentors who backed them—to hear the real stories, lessons and pivotal moments behind building something that lasts.
    — Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of pivotal
Adjective
  • Infrastructure In infrastructure, the analysts said investors should look at companies that own critical networks such as grids, pipelines, fiber networks and transport assets that are difficult to replicate.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 July 2026
  • Women comprise 35% of US STEM employees, yet retention, not attraction, is the primary challenge, with women leaving at higher rates and companies losing critical knowledge.
    — Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of critical
Adjective
  • Saibari scored in each of Morocco’s three group games and struck the decisive penalty in the shootout win over the Netherlands.
    — Joe Murphy, NBC news, 9 July 2026
  • Veterinarians are trained to be decisive and efficient, and the instinct in a tense moment is almost always to reach for a fix the moment a client shows distress.
    — Kwame Christian Esq, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of decisive
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
Definition of climacteric
Adjective
  • Both are well in the hunt for the World Cup’s Golden Boot award, having scored crucial winning goals for their countries almost every step of the way.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026
  • The pieces of it that Weiden shares with us, including a passage about Native athletes’ crucial role in the early history of the sport of football, are eye-opening.
    — Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 10 July 2026
Definition of crucial
Adjective
  • Two players acquired during the watershed opening day of free agency have little name recognition.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • And that’s for showing up at a red carpet, not for a watershed celebrity wedding that threatens to overshadow America’s 250th birthday on July 4.
    — Marc Malkin, Variety, 2 July 2026
Definition of watershed

Browse Nearby Words

climacterics
climactic
climate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Climactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climactic. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on climactic

Nglish: Translation of climactic for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All