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
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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
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
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
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Kilmer played up all of those traits in the film’s climactic scene, an intimate man-to-man duel with the gunfighter Johnny Ringo (a devilish Michael Biehn), that stands as arguably the best gun battle of the modern Western era — even if only two shots were fired.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
2 Apr. 2025
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That way the crew could pull the whole thing down in the climactic scene with the help of an elaborate network of conveyor belts, hydraulic lifts, airblowers, and vacuum hoses.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Fans believed from Episode One that at least one character would die in a shooting, and, as in Seasons One and Two, each episode slowly (this time, much more slowly) built to the anticipated climax, leaving breadcrumbs both real and sometimes intentionally misleading.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
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In Sunday’s stressful Season 3 finale, all the storylines came to a tragic climax, with Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), Rick (Walton Goggins) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn), who was revealed to be Rick’s real father, all dying in a shootout at the resort.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Aside from this major milestone, Ovechkin has reached 40 goals in a season for a 14th time in his career, the most in league history, despite sitting out 16 games at the beginning of this season because of a broken left fibula.—
Eric Jackson,
Sportico.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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This milestone stands out in China‘s sluggish consumption environment marked by weak domestic and overseas demand.—
Li Jun,
Footwear News,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Lower Basin states presented a proposal that incorporated reductions for themselves but also called for cuts across the entire watershed — calculating storage capacity not just on the massive Lake Powell and Lake Mead, but also on five smaller reservoirs, including three in the Upper Basin.—
Sharon Udasin,
The Hill,
18 Feb. 2025
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But dams throughout the watershed had robbed the fish of valuable habitat, and invasive small-mouth bass preyed on the chub, putting it on the endangered species list.—
Luke Cyphers,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The couple held apocalyptic religious beliefs that prosecutors claimed were used to justify the killings of Tylee, JJ and Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2025
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Oh, and all of the action is taking place in a manufactured community...an enormous bunker inside a Colorado mountain used to protect thousands from an apocalyptic natural disaster made worse by nuclear panic.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The group took over the One Wall Street building and restored the Red Room, a Art Deco architectural landmark with an original Hildreth Meière mosaic covering the walls and ceiling.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
8 Apr. 2025
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To mark the launch, an exclusive event was held at Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan, a landmark in the automotive industry for over 70 years.—
Mecca Pryor,
Essence,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This capability is particularly useful for studying critical environments like eelgrass beds, which support marine biodiversity.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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With key players sidelined, Sacramento will now have to lean heavily on its depth during a critical stretch of the season, but at the worst possible time.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Related Stories As Dickens goes over each of Jesus’ miracles and other pivotal moments ahead of his gruesome death, young Walter walks into the biblical passages as an unseen figure watching from the sidelines and becoming enraptured by the tall tales.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2025
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The Penn State athletic department also credits former Penn State club ice hockey coach Joe Battista, a former school administrator who played a pivotal in securing the original donation from the Pegulas and oversaw the early development of the men’s and women’s D-I programs.—
Eric Jackson,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Climacteric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climacteric. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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