What does "climacteric" mean?
A critical stage or decisive point; a turning point.
Climacteric
/klʌɪmakˈtɛɹɪk/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A critical stage or decisive point; a turning point.
- Grammar: climacteric is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: acute, change of life, change of life, charged.
- Usage evidence: Tom doesn't know the difference between climax and climacteric.
How to use "climacteric"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "climacteric" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "climacteric" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "climacteric" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A critical stage or decisive point; a turning point.
"It is your lot, as it was mine, to live during one of the grand climacterics of the world."
- 2 the time in a woman's life in which the menstrual cycle ends wordnet
- 3 A period in human life in which some great change is supposed to take place, calculated in different ways by different authorities (often identified as every seventh or ninth year).
- 4 a period in a man's life corresponding to menopause wordnet
- 5 The period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women; the menopause.
"Once women have traversed the turmoil of the climacteric years and reached the hormonal steady-state of the post-menopause, there is almost certainly no increase in the incidence of depression."
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to any of several supposedly critical years of a person's life.
"Closely parallel to the belief in unlucky days was the notion of climacteric years, those periodic dates in a man's life which were potential turning-points in his health and fortune."
- 2 Critical or crucial; decisive.
"The seeds of a climateric insurrection against the hypocrisy of cultural norms."
- 3 Relating to a period of physiological change during middle age; especially, menopausal.
- 4 Climactic.
- 5 (of fruit) That continues to ripen after being harvested.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Tom doesn't know the difference between climax and climacteric."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "climacteric"?
Common synonyms include: acute, change of life, change of life, charged, clutch, convergence of events.
How do you use "climacteric" in a sentence?
Tom doesn't know the difference between climax and climacteric.
How do you pronounce "climacteric"?
Pronounced /klʌɪmakˈtɛɹɪk/.
Etymology
From Latin clīmactēricus, from Koine Greek κλιμακτηρικός (klimaktērikós), from κλιμακτήρ (klimaktḗr, “scale, progression, gradation”).