climactic
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or coming to a climax.
the climactic scene of a play.
adjective
-
consisting of, involving, or causing a climax
Usage
What’s the difference between climactic and climatic? Climactic is used to describe things that involve or feel like a climax—the culmination or most intense part of a story or situation. Climatic means relating to climate—the average atmospheric conditions that prevail in a given region over a long period of time—whether a place is generally cold and wet or hot and dry, for example. Climactic is used in situations in which a peak of some kind is being reached, such as a climactic ending of a movie. The word anticlimactic is used—perhaps more commonly—to mean the opposite, such as when you expect something exciting to happen but it doesn’t. Climatic is not all that commonly used, especially because it has a much more narrow meaning. It’s typically used in scientific contexts involving climate and weather. You can keep their spellings straight by remembering that climactic comes from climax, so it needs that c in replacement of the x before the ending -tic. Climatic, on the other hand, is basically climate plus the -ic ending (with the e having been dropped). Here’s an example of climactic and climatic used correctly in a sentence. Example: Many people have failed to recognize the danger of the change in climatic conditions because the change has been a relatively gradual one, rather than a dramatic, climactic spike—but that may soon change. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between climactic and climatic.
Other Word Forms
- climactically adverb
- nonclimactic adjective
- nonclimactical adjective
- unclimactic adjective
Etymology
Origin of climactic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, “Undertone” is like getting to the climactic moment of your favorite horror podcast, only to have the terrifying impetus interrupted by a Squarespace ad.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
The now pulsing, now soaring strains of Prokofiev’s climactic “Balcony Scene” are enacted solely on screen as recorded by Mr. Marcovici’s camera.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
Thirty-six dancers with raised arms glide slowly forward as they encircle their prey, a lone figure on a red table in a climactic scene from Ravel's "Bolero" choreographed by Maurice Bejart.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
There’s humor in Ibsen’s ironic observations but the play’s climactic moments are deadly serious.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026
And, like a grizzled extra scurrying out of the bar just before the climactic final shootout in a grade B Hollywood Western, Bud dropped a dollar onto the table and hurriedly split.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.