Climax Means a Ladder
A climax is the highest point of something. The Greek word meant a ladder, and the sense was of ascending step by step.
A climax is the most intense or decisive point of something. The Greek *klimax* means a ladder, and the original rhetorical sense was the ascent rather than the summit: a climax was a series of statements each stronger than the last. English kept the top of the ladder and lost the rungs.
- The highest point. *The climax of the story.*
- A rhetorical device. *A climax of three clauses.*
- To reach a peak. *The campaign climaxed in June.*
- Anticlimax — a disappointing end. *A complete anticlimax.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | climax | A dramatic climax. |
| Plural | climaxes | Two climaxes. |
| Verb | climax | It climaxed early. |
| Adjective | climactic | The climactic scene. |
| Confusable | climatic | Climatic change. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The climactic scene lasts ten minutes.Of the climax.
- Climatic conditions worsened.Of the climate — a different word.
- The ending was an anticlimax.A let-down.
Story structure
- Exposition — setting up the situation
- Rising action — complications build
- Climax — the decisive turning point
- Falling action — consequences unfold
- Resolution — the situation settles
From Late Latin *climax*, from Greek *klimax*, a ladder, from *klinein*, to lean — the same root as *incline* and *recline*.
Climactic or climatic?
Climactic relates to a climax. Climatic relates to climate. They differ by one letter and entirely in meaning.
Why does the word mean a ladder?
The original rhetorical sense was a series of rising statements, like climbing rungs. English kept only the top.