ANTICLIMAX

anticlimax, bathos

(noun) a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one

anticlimax

(noun) a disappointing decline after a previous rise; “the anticlimax of a brilliant career”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

anticlimax (plural anticlimaxes)

A failed or reverse climax, particularly

(narratology) An unsatisfying resolution to a narrative, usually owing to a deus ex machina or similarly trivial resolution of the main conflict.

(rhetoric) An abrupt descent (either deliberate or unintentional) from the dignity of the idea which the speaker or writer appeared to be aiming for.

Synonyms

• (partial): bathos

Antonyms

• climax

• (literary): cliffhanger

• (rhetoric): auxesis

Source: Wiktionary

An`ti*cli"max, n. (Rhet.)

Definition: 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 ANTICLINAL An`ti*cli"nal, a. Etym: [Pref. anti- + Gr.

Definition: Inclining or dipping in opposite directions. See Synclinal. Anticlinal line, Anticlinal axis (Geol.), a line from which strata dip in opposite directions, as from the ridge of a roof.

– Anticlinal vertebra (Anat.), one of the dorsal vertebræ, which in many animals has an upright spine toward which the spines of the neighboring vertebræ are inclined.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition