noun
Freq #80687
Meanings
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1
noun
a disappointing or unimportant ending after a buildup that created expectations of something exciting or impressive
After months of publicity, the brief announcement felt like an anticlimax.
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2
noun
a rhetorical descent from a serious or impressive idea to a trivial or weaker one
The speech moved from justice and liberty to parking permits in an unintended anticlimax.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Formed from anti- ("opposite, against") + climax. Climax comes through Late Latin from Greek klimax ("ladder"), which produced the rhetorical image of ideas rising step by step; an anticlimax reverses that ascent or fails to complete it.