different between climax vs thrill

English

Etymology

From Latin cl?max, from Ancient Greek ?????? (klîmax, “ladder, staircase, [rhetorical] climax”), from ????? (klín?, “I lean, slant”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: kl??-m?ks IPA^(key): /?kla?mæks/
• Rhymes: -a?mæks

Noun

climax (countable and uncountable, plural climaxes or (rare) climaces)

1. (originally rhetoric) A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged in ascending order.
2. (obsolete) An instance of such an ascending series.
   • 1781, John Moore, A view of society and manners in Italy, Vol. I, Ch. vi, p. 63:

     ...Expressions for the whole Climax of sensibility...
3. (narratology) The culmination of a narrative's rising action, the turning point.
4. (now commonly) A culmination or acme: the last term in an ascending series, particularly:
   • 1789, Trifler, 448, No. XXXV:

     In the accomplishment of this, they frequently reach the climax of absurdity.

   1. (rhetoric, imprecise) The final term of a rhetorical climax.
      • 1856, Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits, Ch. ix, p. 147:

        When he adds epithets of praise, his climax is ‘so English’.

   3. (ecology) The culmination of ecological development, whereby species are in equilibrium with their environment.
      • 1915 July 17, Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory:

        The succession of associations leading to a climax represents the process of adjustment to the conditions of stress, and the climax represents a condition of relative equilibrium. Climax associations... are the resultants of certain climatic, geological... conditions.

   4. The culmination of sexual pleasure, an orgasm.
      • 1918, Marie Carmichael Stopes, Married love, 50:

        In many cases the man's climax comes so swiftly that the woman's reactions are not nearly ready.

Synonyms

• (rhetorical device): incrementum; (imprecise): auxesis, catacosmesis
• (culmination): See Thesaurus:apex

Antonyms

• (rhetorical device): catacosmesis

Derived terms

• climactic
• climax community
• monoclimax
• polyclimax

Related terms

• climacteric

Translations

See also

• anadiplosis

Verb

climax (third-person singular simple present climaxes, present participle climaxing, simple past and past participle climaxed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To reach or bring to a climax.
   • 2018, Craig Snyder, The Boxers of Youngstown Ohio

     Frank had two bouts in October of 1954, losing them both, and then climaxed his career with a 6-round decision victory over Mickey Warner on December 1, 1954.
2. (intransitive) To orgasm; to reach orgasm.

Further reading

• climax in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• climax in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kli.maks/

Noun

climax m (uncountable)

1. climax (all senses)

Derived terms

• anteclimax
• climacique
• conclimax
• paraclimax
• peniclimax
• subclimax

Romanian

Etymology

From French climax.

Noun

climax n (plural climaxuri)

1. climax

Declension

Spanish

Noun

climax m (plural climax)

1. climax

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l/
  • (UK, US) IPA^(key): [??????]
  • (Ireland) IPA^(key): [?????l], [t?????l]
• Rhymes: -?l

Etymology 1

From Old English þ?rlian (“to pierce”), derived from þ?rel (“hole”) (archaic English thirl).

Verb

thrill (third-person singular simple present thrills, present participle thrilling, simple past and past participle thrilled)

1. (ergative) To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a sensation.
   • 1854, Matthew Arnold, Preface to Poems

     vivid and picturesque turns of expression […] which thrill the reader with a sudden delight
2. (ergative) To (cause something to) tremble or quiver.
3. (obsolete) To perforate by a pointed instrument; to bore; to transfix; to drill.
4. (obsolete) To hurl; to throw; to cast.
   • 1632, Thomas Heywood, The Iron Age

     I'd thrill my jauelin at the Grecian moysture

Derived terms

• enthrill

Translations

Noun

thrill (plural thrills)

1. A trembling or quivering, especially one caused by emotion.
2. A cause of sudden excitement; a kick.
3. (medicine) A slight quivering of the heart that accompanies a cardiac murmur.
4. A breathing place or hole; a nostril, as of a bird.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Blend of thread (verb) +? drill (verb).

Verb

thrill (third-person singular simple present thrills, present participle thrilling, simple past and past participle thrilled)

1. (machining) To drill and thread in one operation, using a tool bit that cuts the hole and the threads in one series of computer-controlled movements.