Climax
Climax , noun
[Latin, from Greek {not transcribed} ladder, staircase, from {not transcribed} to make to bend, to lean. See Ladder, Lean, v. i.]
1.
Upward movement; steady increase; gradation; ascent. — Glanvill
2.
(Rhetoric) A figure in which the parts of a sentence or paragraph are so arranged that each succeeding one rises above its predecessor in impressiveness.
“Tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, and experience hope” -- a happy climax.
3.
The highest point; the greatest degree.
We must look higher for the climax of earthly good.
Collocations (1)
To cap the climax , to surpass everything, as in excellence or in absurdity. [Colloquial]