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climaxing - 2 dictionary results

cli⋅max

  [klahy-maks]
Use climaxing in a Sentence
–noun
1. the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination: His career reached its climax when he was elected president.
2. (in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.
3. Rhetoric.
a. a figure consisting of a series of related ideas so arranged that each surpasses the preceding in force or intensity.
b. the last term or member of this figure.
4. an orgasm.
5. Ecology. the stable and self-perpetuating end stage in the ecological succession or evolution of a plant and animal community.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
6. to bring to or reach a climax.
Origin:
1580–90; < LL < Gk klîmax ladder, akin to klnein to lean

Synonyms:
1. summit, zenith, acme, apex.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To climaxing
cli·max   (klī'māks')   
n.  
  1. The point of greatest intensity or force in an ascending series or progression; a culmination. See Synonyms at summit.
    1. A series of statements or ideas in an ascending order of rhetorical force or intensity.
    2. The final statement in such a series.
    3. A moment of great or culminating intensity in a narrative or drama, especially the conclusion of a crisis.
    4. The turning point in a plot or dramatic action.
    1. A moment of great or culminating intensity in a narrative or drama, especially the conclusion of a crisis.
    2. The turning point in a plot or dramatic action.
  4. See orgasm.
  5. A stage in ecological development in which a community of organisms, especially plants, is stable and capable of perpetuating itself. Also called climax community.
tr. & intr.v.   cli·maxed, cli·max·ing, cli·max·es
To bring to or reach a climax.

[Latin clīmax, rhetorical climax, from Greek klīmax, ladder; see klei- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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