What does climactic mean?
Word: Climactic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Climactic means forming the most exciting or important part of a story, a match or an event, usually near the end.
Synonyms: thrilling, decisive
How do you spell climactic?
Syllables: cli - mac - tic
Tricky part: Keep the c before the t in the middle. Without it you get climatic, a different word about weather and climate.
Watch out for: climactick, climmactic
Memory tip: Think of the climax of a story: climactic keeps the c sound of climax just before the t.
Climactic in a sentence
Example 1: The climactic scene of the play took place on a stormy night at sea.
Example 2: Everyone stood up for the climactic final over of the cricket match.
Example 3: The book builds slowly towards a climactic chase through the hills of Scotland.
Fun Fact
Climactic comes from climax, which goes back to a Greek word for a ladder. A story climbs step by step, like a ladder, to its most exciting point.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
cl_m_ctic
a) i,e
b) i,a
c) e,a
d) y,a
Show answer
b) i,a. Say cli-mac slowly: the first gap is the i of climb and the second is the a of mac.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The audience gasped during the climactec moment when the hero finally reached the top of the mountain.
a) climactec
b) mountain
c) finally
d) audience
Show answer
a) climactec. The ending is tic, as in fantastic and electric.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) climactic
b) suspensful
c) dramattic
d) thriling
Show answer
a) climactic. Suspenseful keeps the e of suspense, thrilling has a double l, and dramatic has only one t.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
atccimlic
a) metallic
b) climactic
c) acrobatic
d) clinical
Show answer
b) climactic. Acrobatic, clinical and metallic each need letters that are not in the jumble.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In most films, the climactic scene comes ____.
a) in the first minute
b) close to the end
c) before the title
d) during the credits
Show answer
b) close to the end
2. In a football match, which moment is the most climactic?
a) the referee checking the ball
b) a winning goal in the last minute
c) fans buying tickets outside
d) the players walking out
Show answer
b) a winning goal in the last minute
