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Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

Anticlimax

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, anticlimax means: A disappointing or deliberately small outcome after a buildup of expectation.

In Turkish: beklentinin boşa çıkması, doruk karşıtı sonuç

How it is used

Use for a weakened payoff after tension; it can be a flaw or a deliberate comic choice.

Example sentences

  1. After the long chase, finding only an empty suitcase creates an anticlimax.

    The empty object fails to deliver the reward promised by the chase.

  2. The comic anticlimax arrives when the feared visitor asks to borrow a spoon.

    A harmless request replaces the danger the scene has prepared.

Common collocations

  • a disappointing anticlimax
  • comic anticlimax
  • climaxThe most intense and important moment of a story, when the main conflict reaches its turning point and the outcome is decided.
  • comedyA play or story meant to amuse, usually built on misunderstandings and humor and ending happily, often with reunions or marriages.

More terms: Plot and Structure

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