climax
/ˈklaɪ.mæks/
climax noun: a rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.
Noun
climax (countable and uncountable, plural climaxes or (rare) climaces)
- A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.
- Ye haue a figure which as well by his Greeke and Latine originals […] may be called the marching figure […] and goeth as it were by ſtrides or paces; it may aſwell by called the clyming figure, for Clymax is as much to ſay as a ladder,[…]1589 June, George Puttenham, chapter 19, in Edward Arber, editor, The Arte of English Poesie, volume 3, London, published 1869, page 217
- Climax, by steps advancing, onward goes
Higher and still more high to an impassion'd close.1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Climax.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 26
- Synonyms:
- incrementum
- An instance of such an ascending series.
- […]Expressions for the whole Climax of sensibility[…]1781, John Moore, chapter VI, in A view of society and manners in Italy, volume I, page 63
- The Begums' ministers, on the contrary, to extort from them the disclosure of the place which concealed the treasures, were, […] after being fettered and imprisoned, led out on to a scaffold, and this array of terrours proving unavailing, the meek tempered Middleton, as a dernier resort, menaced...1788 June, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, “Mr. Sheridan’s Speech, on Summing Up the Evidence on the Second, or Begum Charge against Warren Hastings, Esq., Delivered before the High Court of Parliament...
- The culmination of a narrative's rising action, the turning point.
- As a trafficker in climaxes and thrills and characterization and wonderful dialogue and suspense and confrontations, I had outlined the Dresden story many times.1969 March 31, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., chapter 1, in Slaughterhouse-Five […] (A Seymour Lawrence Book), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →OCLC, page 4
- Synonyms:
- payoff
- A culmination or acme: the last term in an ascending series, particularly
- In the accomplishment of this, they frequently reach the climax of absurdity.1789, Trifler, 448, No. XXXV
- The final term of a rhetorical climax.
- When he adds epithets of praise, his climax is ‘so English’.1856, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter IX, in English Traits, page 147
- A relatively stable community of organisms, resulting from ecological succession, a successful adaptation to a relatively stable environment.
- Near-synonyms: old-growth, mature ecosystem
- The succession of associations leading to a climax represents the process of adjustment to the conditions of stress, and the climax represents a condition of relative equilibrium. Climax associations[…] are the resultants of certain climatic, geological[…] conditions.1915 July 17, Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory
- Synonyms:
- old-growth, mature ecosystem
- The culmination of sexual pleasure, an orgasm.
- In many cases the man's climax comes so swiftly that the woman's reactions are not nearly ready.1918, Marie Carmichael Stopes, Married love, section 50
- What's the use of bringing some high schooler to climax?1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Julian Kaye (Richard Gere)
Verb
climax (third-person singular simple present climaxes, present participle climaxing, simple past and past participle climaxed)
- To reach or bring to a climax (in any sense).
- All our memories are burning in time / Like a bittersweet perfume / Can you tell me how a love that's so fine / Could have climaxed in a single afternoon?1978, Bionic Boogie, “Hot Butterfly”, in Gregg Diamond Bionic Boogie – Hot Butterfly (performed by Luther Vandross)
- Huntsman starts out with a vision of Theron that’s specific, unique, and weighted in character, but it trends throughout toward generic fantasy tropes and black-and-white morality, and climaxes in a thoroughly familiar face-off.2012 May 31, Tasha Robinson, “Snow White And The Huntsman”, in AV Club
- To form the climax to; to be the climax of.
- A group of about 50 people, mostly young adults and teenagers, charged into a city park where gay people were having a swimming party on June 8. Gay people were attacked, climaxing a year in which this conservative Ohio city [Cincinnati] has become aware of its gay population.1979 August 4, Walter Williams, “Swimmers Attacked”, in Gay Community News, page 3
Adjective
climax (comparative more climax, superlative most climax)
- Being a climax species or climax community of organisms; able to remain essentially unchanged (in terms of the portion of the species in its area it constitutes) as long as its site remains unchanged.
- [The] tree which here is "more pioneer" and the one which is "more climax" do not differ from each other by this vegetational character alone. Most of the tree species which are "more pioneer" are conifers, those which are "more climax" are hardwoods.1954, William Louis Culberson, The Corticolous Lichen and Bryophyte Communities of the ..., page 158
- [page 412:] […] evidence that beech is more climax than hemlock in this area (Brown and Curtis 1952).
- [page 417:] beech in this area is as climax as sugar maple.1956, Ecology, volume 37
Proper noun capitalized: Climax
Climax
- A village in the Rural Municipality of Lone Tree No. 18, Saskatchewan, Canada.
- An unincorporated community and mining location in Lake County, Colorado.
- A small town in Decatur County, Georgia.
- A minor city in Greenwood County, Kansas.
- An unincorporated community in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.
- A village and township in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
- A minor city in Polk County, Minnesota.
- A hamlet in Greene County, New York.
- An unincorporated community in Guilford County and Randolph County, North Carolina.
- An unincorporated community in Morrow County, Ohio.
- An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon.
- An unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
- An unincorporated community in Collin County, Texas.
- An unincorporated community in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
climax meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
climax in Hindi
- climax, zenith, apex
- पराकाष्ठा parākāṣṭhā
- climax
- चरमसुख caramsukh
climax in Tamil
- உச்சம், உணர்ச்சி முகடு, செயல் உச்சம், உச்சநிலை, உச்சகட்டம், ஏறணி
climax in Marathi
- orgasm
- समागमपूर्ती samāgampūrtī, संभोगपूर्ती sambhogpūrtī, कामपूर्ती kāmpūrtī
climax in Urdu
- climax, extremity
- مقطع maqta'
More languagesFewer languages
- climax in Bengali
- চরম সীমা, ক্লাইম্যাক্স
- climax in Malayalam
- മൂർദ്ധന്യം mūṟddhanyaṁ, രതിമൂർച്ഛ ratimūṟccha
- climax in Kannada
- ತುತ್ತತುದಿ, ಪರಾಕಾಷ್ಠೆ, ಚರಮಸ್ಥಿತಿ, ಕೊನೆ
- climax in Gujarati
- પરાકાષ્ઠા, ક્લાઇમેક્સ, ક્લાઈમેક્સ
- climax in Odia
- କ୍ଲାଇମ୍ଯ଼ାକ୍ସ, ପରାକାଷ୍ଠା
- climax in Sanskrit
- पराकाष्ठा parākāṣṭhā
- climax in Nepali
- क्लाइमेक्स, चरमोत्कर्ष, क्लाइम्याक्स
- climax in Indonesian
- puncak, gong
Examples of climax in a sentence
- Thus, my lords, was a British garrison made the climax of cruelties!1788 June, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, “Mr. Sheridan’s Speech, on Summing Up the Evidence on the Second, or Begum Charge against Warren...
- Frank had two bouts in October of 1954, losing them both, and then climaxed his career with a 6-round decision victory over Mickey Warner on December 1, 1954.2018, Craig Snyder, The Boxers of Youngstown Ohio:
- I have never been able to climax during sex.2023 May 30, Pamela Stephenson Connolly, “I have never been able to climax during sex. Is my masturbation style to blame?”, in The...
- On poor sites such as the obsidian sands of Yellowstone Park it is climax.1979, Proceedings of the ... Convention of the Society of American Foresters, page 160:
Synonyms of climax
- incrementum
- payoff
- old-growth
- mature ecosystem
- auxesis
- catacosmesis
- apex
Antonyms
Forms of climax
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | climaxes |
| plural (rare) | climaces |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | climaxes |
| present participle | climaxing |
| past participle | climaxed |
| past | climaxed |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more climax |
| superlative | most climax |
Origin of climax
From Latin clīmax, from Ancient Greek κλῖμαξ (klîmax, “ladder, staircase, [rhetorical] climax”), from κλίνω (klínō, “to lean, slant”).
Words formed from climax
Phrases with climax
Words that rhyme with climax
Questions about climax
- What does climax mean?
- Climax means a rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.
- What is climax in Hindi?
- Climax in Hindi is पराकाष्ठा (parākāṣṭhā), चरमसुख (caramsukh). See Climax meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use climax in a sentence?
- Thus, my lords, was a British garrison made the climax of cruelties!
- What part of speech is climax?
- Climax can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce climax?
- Climax is pronounced /ˈklaɪ.mæks/.
- What is the plural of climax?
- The plural of climax is climaxes.
Words near climax in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: climax (page history and authors); Climax (page history and authors); चरमसुख (Hindi) (page history and authors); climax (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); مقطع (Urdu) (page history and authors); climax (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); climax (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); climax (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); climax (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); climax (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-climax.ogg.
Cite this entry: “climax.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/climax. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.