Definition of Climax

1. Noun. The highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding. "In the flood tide of his success"

Exact synonyms: Flood Tide
Generic synonyms: Juncture, Occasion
Derivative terms: Climactic

2. Verb. End, especially to reach a final or climactic stage. "The meeting culminated in a tearful embrace"
Exact synonyms: Culminate
Specialized synonyms: Crown, Top
Generic synonyms: Cease, End, Finish, Stop, Terminate
Derivative terms: Culmination, Culmination, Culmination

3. Noun. The decisive moment in a novel or play. "The deathbed scene is the climax of the play"
Exact synonyms: Culmination
Group relationships: Story
Generic synonyms: Instant, Minute, Moment, Second
Derivative terms: Climactic, Culminate, Culminate

4. Noun. The moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse.
Exact synonyms: Coming, Orgasm, Sexual Climax
Generic synonyms: Consummation
Specialized synonyms: Male Orgasm
Derivative terms: Climactic, Come

5. Noun. The most severe stage of a disease.
Generic synonyms: Degree, Level, Point, Stage
Derivative terms: Climactic

6. Noun. Arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness.
Generic synonyms: Rhetorical Device

Definition of Climax

1. n. Upward movement; steady increase; gradation; ascent.

Definition of Climax

1. Noun. The point of greatest intensity or force in an ascending series; a culmination ¹

2. Noun. The turning point in a plot or in dramatic action, especially one marking a change in the protagonist's affairs. ¹

3. Noun. A stage of ecological development in which a community of organisms, is stable and capable of perpetuating itself. ¹

4. Noun. (slang) An orgasm. ¹

5. Noun. (sense rhetoric) Ordering of terms in increasing order of importance or magnitude. ¹

6. Noun. (sense rhetoric) Anadiplosis. ¹

7. Verb. To reach or bring to a climax ¹

8. Verb. To orgasm; to reach orgasm ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Climax

1. to reach a high or dramatic point [v -ED, -ING, -ES]

Medical Definition of Climax

1. 1. The height or acme of a disease; its stage of greatest severity. Synonym: orgasm. Origin: G. Klimax, staircase (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Climax

climatized
climatizes
climatizing
climatographies
climatography
climatologic
climatological
climatologies
climatologist
climatologists
climatology
climatory
climatotherapy
climature
climatures
climaxed
climaxes
climaxing
climaxless
climb
climb-down
climb down
climb on
climb the walls
climb up
climbable
climbazole
climbdown
climbdowns

Literary usage of Climax

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Transactions by American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Metallurgical Society of AIME, Society of Mining Engineers of AIME., Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (U.S.). (1920)
"climax station, on the C'olorado Southern narrow-gage railway, ... Within a few miles of climax, some of the richest gold placers of Colorado occur. ..."

2. Writing the Short-story: A Practical Handbook on the Rise, Structure by Joseph Berg Esenwein (1918)
"climax The climax is " the apex of interest and emotion; it is the point of the ... The full crisis and the climax may be identical, but often the crisis ..."

3. Composition for College Students by Joseph Morris Thomas, Frederick Alexander Manchester, Frank William Scott (1922)
"The climax.—The climax itself should be given as rapidly and as concisely ... Hawthorne presents the climax of "The Ambitious Guest" in a single sentence, ..."

4. An American Glossary by Richard Hopwood Thornton (1912)
"Cap the climax, to. To surpass everything. 1804 Your correspondent caps ... 1819 To cap the climax of his villany, True forced Mr. Buswell Lancaster (Pa. ..."

5. Geology by Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, Rollin D. Salisbury (1905)
"The climax of the crinoids.—No single group so well characterizes the fauna and expresses its dependence on physical conditions as the crinoids, ..."

6. The Art of Playwriting: Being a Practical Treatise on the Elements of by Alfred Hennequin (1890)
"climax. — A regular increase of force and interest culminating in a strong situation is called ... Toward the end of the play should occur the great climax, ..."

7. Publishers Weeklyby Publishers' Board of Trade (U.S.), Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, American Book Trade Union, Am. Book Trade Association, R.R. Bowker Company by Publishers' Board of Trade (U.S.), Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, American Book Trade Union, Am. Book Trade Association, R.R. Bowker Company (1902)
"Printed on Stamped Linen In Gold 360 Price $1.60 CHARLES FELTON PIDGIN. THE keynote to the theme of "The climax" is found in the ..."

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