Anticlimax

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Anticlimax \An`ti*cli"max\, n. (Rhet.)
     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.
  
     Note: Example:


  
                 Next comes Dalhousie, the great god of war,
                 Lieutenant-colonel to the Earl of Mar.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  anticlimax
       n 1: a disappointing decline after ad previous rise; "the
            anticlimax of a brilliant career"
       2: a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one [syn:
           {bathos}]