climaxes 1 of 2

noun

plural of climax
1
as in milestones
a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs the climax of the story occurs when the hero discovers the identity of his father

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in culminations
the highest part or point the climax of her career as a performer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

climaxes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of climax
as in culminates
to bring to a triumphant conclusion organizers climaxed the county fair with a down and dirty pie-eating contest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 climaxes
Noun
The Mannings’ mission climaxes with Rudd and Hathaway coaching them out of the building before Goodell and his security staff catch them. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026 As the drama with Salt Lake City climaxes, the rest of the Girls Trip women start to wonder if there’s more to the story than Lisa let on. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026 Ross doesn’t tend towards punch-the-air climaxes—just warm, excitable builds. — Shaad D’souza, Pitchfork, 27 Aug. 2026 Each concert climaxes with Pinkerton’s sword fight against the Rat Reaperess, leading to the singer’s inevitable defeat. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 29 June 2026 Chases and weird extraterrestrial stuff abounds, leading to one of Spielberg's most gripping climaxes ever. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 June 2026 This year’s sequel climaxes with Grace hijacking her second wedding to a Satanic heir by killing him and banishing his oligarchical cabal to hell. — Judy Berman, Time, 27 May 2026 Via one of popular music’s most stratospherically elevating climaxes, the song shifts into gospel overdrive with the explosive entrance of disco’s mightiest, most visceral vocalist, Loleatta Holloway. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026 Anderson is here for the melodrama, the special lessons and the climaxes that fall flat. — Jessica Lipsky, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
In Lloyd’s production, the action climaxes with Benedick and Beatrice in an encounter that nods to Dirty Dancing. — Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026 The film climaxes with a triumphant visit by the musicians, some in their 90s, to New York’s Carnegie Hall. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for climaxes
  1. milestones
  2. culminations
  3. culminates
  4. watersheds
  5. pinnacles
  6. finishes
  7. landmarks
  8. heights
Noun
  • Before approaching investors, management should understand exactly how much capital the business needs, what it will be used for, when it will be needed and what milestones that capital is expected to produce.
    — Loran Armstrong, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • These trials will generate data needed to advance the program toward live-fire milestones.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of milestones
Noun
  • Lunar eclipses, on the other hand, tend to coincide with powerful culminations, emotional revelations and the release of something that’s reached its natural conclusion.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026
  • Full moons are culminations — don’t forget to pause and see what’s already come full circle before rushing into more.
    — Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 28 Nov. 2025
Definition of culminations
Verb
  • Keeping her husband happy yet oblivious—managing his baby fever with staged fake miscarriages—only goes so far when Martha begins suffering an inexplicable illness that culminates in an impossible pregnancy.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The result is Times Travel, a purportedly immersive journey through the history of Times Square and the New Year’s Eve Ball that culminates in a view of the IRL city.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of culminates
Noun
  • This would give local managers greater flexibility to address wildfire risk, forest health, watersheds, timber production and local economic conditions.
    — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • About 4 million acres in California are affected, including watersheds of the American, Rubicon and Yuba rivers.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of watersheds
Noun
  • Fourteen years earlier, his debut feature, Ossessione, had effectively birthed Italian neorealism, and Visconti had followed it up with La Terra Trema (1948), one of the absolute pinnacles of the movement.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • The Ed Sullivan Theater, which first opened in 1927, is a 13-story shadow box preserving bits from a rich history of pop culture pinnacles past.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of pinnacles
Verb
  • Metea finishes the regular season with games against DeKalb (1-5) and Kaneland (5-1), while Waubonsie closes against Naperville Central (3-3) and Lockport (3-3).
    — Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The Power Cleaner performs a more intensive scan than the Quick Optimizer, with options to run optimizations automatically when the scan finishes and to shut down the system after optimization completes.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of finishes
Noun
  • This Special puzzle features lyric references, cultural landmarks and even historic events tied to Dylan.
    — Atoosa Moinzadeh, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Set in Pasadena, the series films multiple Pasadena landmarks.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of landmarks
Noun
  • Philbrick, a seasoned and popular chronicler of the American past, is equally concerned with those who got trampled by the rush as with those who rode it to astonishing heights of wealth and influence.
    — Richard Kreitner, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • For about 40 years, business leaders have seen every significant wave of business software serve as a ladder, allowing small businesses to reach new heights.
    — Bonnie Le Page, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of heights

Browse Nearby Words

climaxed
climaxes
climaxing
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Cite this Entry

“Climaxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climaxes. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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