CLIMAXES Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

climaxes 1 of 2

noun

plural of climax

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

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

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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

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 That climaxes in a kaleidoscope of styles where Esteban, directing one scene, erupts in fury, reverting to a verbal and physical violence which Emilia obviously knew and suffered as child, Sorogoyen explains. — John Hopewell, Variety, 16 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 There was plenty of raw energy in climaxes, sometimes too much for so supportive and reinforcing an acoustic as the Meyerson Symphony Center’s. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 23 Jan. 2026

Verb

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

Noun

In addition to these milestones, this will be the ninth overall launch by the Ariane 6 program, which was developed by the European Space Agency and is now operated by Arianespace.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
Technical objectives and operational milestones are expected to be disclosed as the programs progress.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 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

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

Noun

The zoning change would be necessary to build a development of that scale because local zoning guidelines for the downtown area cap building heights at four stories.

— Alexandra Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Now, 15 years later, Cook has catapulted the company to stratospheric heights by forging his own path.

— Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of heights

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climaxed

climaxes

climaxing

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“Climaxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climaxes. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of climaxes

noun

verb

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