anticlimax

Noun
Synonyms: bathos

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)

  1. a disappointing decline after a previous rise“the anticlimax of a brilliant career”Type of fall, downfall
  2. a change from a serious subject to a disappointing oneSynonyms: bathosType of conclusion, endPart of story
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

An′ti·cli′max (…), noun

Rhetoric A sentence in which the ideas fall, or become less important and striking, at the close; — the opposite of climax. It produces a ridiculous effect.

Example:

Next comes Dalhousie, the great god of war, Lieutenant-colonel to the Earl of Mar.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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