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climacteric

adjective
cli路​mac路​ter路​ic | \ kl墨-藞mak-t(蓹-)rik How to pronounce climacteric (audio) ; 藢kl墨-藢mak-藞ter-ik, -藞tir-\

Definition of climacteric

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : constituting or relating to a climacteric
2 : critical, crucial

climacteric

noun

Definition of climacteric (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a major turning point or critical stage
2a : menopause sense 1
b : andropause
3 : the marked and sudden rise in the respiratory rate of fruit just prior to full ripening
Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about climacteric

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Synonyms for climacteric

Synonyms: Adjective

apocalyptic (also apocalyptical), climactic

Synonyms: Noun

climax, corner, landmark, milepost, milestone, turning point, watershed

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Did You Know?

Noun

Climacteric comes from the Greek word klimakt膿r, meaning "critical point" or, literally, "rung of a ladder." English speakers have long used climacteric for those inevitable big moments encountered on the metaphorical ladder of life. The major climacterics in a person鈥檚 life were once thought to happen in years denoted by multiples of 7 or 9 or only in the odd multiples of 7 (7, 21, 35, etc.). The grand (or great) climacteric was held to occur in the 63rd (7 x 9) or the 81st (9 x 9) year of life. Today, climacteric can refer to male or female menopause, which typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, but the general "turning point" sense is not usually tied to a specific age.

Examples of climacteric in a Sentence

Adjective

 as the war reached its climacteric phase, the atrocities dramatically increased, both in number and brutality

Noun

 historians attempting to pinpoint the Roman Empire's climacteric, that precise moment when it began its long downhill slide

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

 Macerating unripe climacteric fruit in sugar, however, isn鈥檛 a substitute for ripening them; that just takes time in your kitchen counter鈥檚 fruit basket. — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, "Get Cooking: Macerating fruit," 8 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'climacteric.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of climacteric

Adjective

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for climacteric

Adjective

Latin climactericus, from Greek klimakt膿rikos, from klimakt膿r critical point, literally, rung of a ladder, from klimak-, klimax ladder

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More Definitions for climacteric

climacteric

adjective
cli路​mac路​ter路​ic | \ kl墨-藞mak-t(蓹-)rik, 藢kl墨-藢mak-藞ter-ik How to pronounce climacteric (audio) \

Medical Definition of climacteric

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: constituting or characterized by the climacteric the climacteric state

climacteric

noun

Medical Definition of climacteric (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : menopause sense 1a(2)
2 : andropause

More from Merriam-Webster on climacteric

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with climacteric

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for climacteric

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