Nazi generals advised Adolf Hitler that it would be unwise to continue the invasion under harsh climatic conditions. The Fuhrer, unsurprisingly, wanted a climactic victory after 6 months of vapid marching into Soviet territory.
The words climatic and climactic are some of the most misspelled and misprinted words in written English. These words are not homophones but it is rather obviously seen how a single letter ‘c’ can lead to confusion between the words in writing. Fortunately, once the meaning and origin of each word are promptly learned, it is unlikely that you will make the same mistake. The word climatic pertains to the noun climate, from Greek ‘klima’ meaning ‘a belt or slope of Earth’. Climate can be defined as the typical weather of a region that remains unchanged over decades; for instance, the cold climate of Antarctica. Climactic, on the contrary, pertains to climax, from Greek ‘klimax’ meaning ‘ladder’.
Climax can be defined as the final part, the end, or the culmination of an action, event, or process; for instance, the climax of a movie. Simply, conditions that describe the long-term weather of a location are climatic conditions. Whereas, conditions that make up and lead to the end or final chapter of something are climactic conditions. Follow the article till the end to learn more on the subject!
Climactic vs climatic – definitions, uses and example sentences
Definition of climactic
It is pronounced as ‘klai-mak-tuhk’. It is used as an adjective. The word climactic denotes to the property or quality of a climax, which is defined as the final or decisive point of an event or process. Climactic also refers to the point or part of the greatest thrill or significance. As we know that an adjective qualifies a noun, climactic is also used with a noun and endows the noun with the quality or characteristics of a climax. For instance, a climactic game means a final or decisive game or a game of extreme importance. Similarly, a climactic scene refers to the scene at or near the end or of serious gravity in a movie or a war. Adjectives synonymous with climactic are final, closing, or culminating.
Example sentences of climactic
- The only teams standing will compete in a climactic match to become champion of the tournament.
In the sentence above, the noun match is qualified to be of a climactic nature making it an ultimately decisive or final match of the tournament.
- The drama has a climactic episode that explains every one of the suspenseful mini-plots it carries throughout its length.
Here, the noun episode is climactic referring to the presence of the dramas climax or thrilling end in that episode.
- In the duel between Achilles and Hector, Achilles kills the Trojan prince in a climactic swordfight and wins the duel.
Lastly, the swordfight between the two persons is climactic, meaning it was the final or closing segment of the duel, concluding who would win.
Definition of climatic
Climatic is pronounced as ‘klai-ma-tuhk’. Climatic pertains to the climate, which is the term used for the typical weather of a region that remains unchanged for extended periods of time. It is also an adjective and is almost exclusively used in the fields of science that study climates like Meteorology or Atmospheric Research. As an adjective, it is coupled with a noun and endows it with the property or quality of climate. For instance, climatic changes describe changes that are related or due to the climate while factors that either comprise, define or determine the climate are climatic factors. Synonyms of the adjective climatic include climatologic and meteorologic.
Example sentences of climatic
- Thanks to global warming, the climatic changes in the North are much more variable than they were two decades ago.
In the first sentence, the adjective climatic qualifies the noun ‘changes’ and refers to changes in the climate. This sentence explains that due to global warming, the climatic changes in the north fluctuate more often now than how they were two decades ago.
- The climatic conditions of the Arctic make it unsuitable for any animal without thick fur to survive.
Here, the adjective qualifies the noun ‘conditions’ to refer to the conditions impacted by the climate of Arctic region. The Arctic climate makes it difficult to survive for animals without fur.
- Pakistan can be divided into six main climatic regions, allowing the country to have one of the most diverse tourist attractions in the world.
Lastly, the adjective (i.e., climatic) qualifies the noun ‘regions’ to mean the regions influenced or determined by their climate.
Conclusion
Climactic and climatic are similar seeming words that have etymological roots from ancient Greek. Both of these words are adjectives and thus, modify or qualify nouns. Climactic refers to the final, ultimately decisive, single most important point or part of an event, literature, or cinema (film, drama etc.). It has three ‘c’s in it, one more than ‘climatic’, which can be referenced to ‘cinema’ as cinemas always have a climax. Like always, the climactic part of our articles always makes things easier. On the contrary, climatic with two ‘c’s simply pertains to climate and is used with a noun to qualify it with properties of climate. It is always a good reminder to keep an open eye for the context of the word, as the use of climatic largely pertains to science journals, televisions and scientist conversations whereas climactic can be used wherever a climax culminates.
