Standard Lemma guide

climacteric

adj · noun · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /klʌɪmakˈtɛɹɪk/
  • /klʌɪˈmaktəɹɪk/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Pertaining to any of several supposedly critical years of a person's life.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Critical or crucial; decisive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Relating to a period of physiological change during middle age; especially, menopausal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Climactic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

(of fruit) That continues to ripen after being harvested.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A critical stage or decisive point; a turning point.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Sketch of Connecticut, Forty Years Since, p. 66-67. [H]e was in his grand climacterick, with a florid brow, and a step like youthful agility. Sigourney, Lydia.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A period in human life in which some great change is supposed to take place, calculated in different ways by different authorities (often identified as every seventh or ninth year).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

The period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women; the menopause.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

the time in a woman's life in which the menstrual cycle ends

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: menopause, change of life

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: biological time

10

noun

Meaning 10

a period in a man's life corresponding to menopause

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: biological time

History

Etymology

From Latin clīmactēricus, from Koine Greek κλιμακτηρικός (klimaktērikós), from κλιμακτήρ (klimaktḗr, “scale, progression, gradation”).

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ancient Greek: κλιμακτηρικός (klimaktērikós) — critical, crucial
  • Polish: krytyczny — critical, crucial
  • Russian: крити́ческий (kritíčeskij) — critical, crucial
  • Russian: опа́сный (opásnyj) — critical, crucial
  • Russian: напряжённый (naprjažónnyj) — critical, crucial
  • Russian: реша́ющий (rešájuščij) — critical, crucial
  • Russian: перело́мный (perelómnyj) — critical, crucial
  • Russian: кульминацио́нный (kulʹminaciónnyj) — critical, crucial
  • German: klimakterisch — relating to a period of physiological change during middle age
  • Polish: klimakteryjny — relating to a period of physiological change during middle age
  • Russian: климактери́ческий (klimakteríčeskij) — relating to a period of physiological change during middle age
  • German: klimakterisch — that continues to ripen after being harvested
  • Catalan: climateri — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women
  • French: climatère — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women
  • German: Klimakterium — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women
  • Italian: climaterio — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women
  • Polish: klimakterium — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women
  • Portuguese: climatério — period of life that leads up to and follows the end of menstruation in women