Anticlimax

//ˈæn.tiˌklaɪ.mæks// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A failed or reverse climax, particularly countable, uncountable

    "Reed, Superba of yore, made a gallant effort to summon the Promethean fire that once burned within him when it was his “listening senates to command,” but his vaunted perorations proved anticlimaces and his oratory a flop."

  2. 2
    a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one wordnet
  3. 3
    A failed or reverse climax; An unsatisfying resolution to a narrative, usually owing to a deus ex machina or similarly trivial resolution of the main conflict. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    a disappointing decline after a previous rise wordnet
  5. 5
    A failed or reverse climax; An abrupt descent (either deliberate or unintentional) from the dignity of the idea which the speaker or writer appeared to be aiming for. countable, rhetoric, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
bathosbathoscatacosmesiscatacosmesiscomedown

Example

More examples

"This is more like an anticlimax."

Etymology

From anti- + climax.

Related phrases

deus ex machinaowing to

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.