as in pinnacle
the highest part or point
excitement in the auditorium slowly built up and reached its crescendo when the star walked on stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to peak
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crescendo
Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 21 Nov. 2025
The panel's efforts come after the Epstein controversy, which has divided the GOP for months, reached a crescendo in Washington this past week.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
With Harakiri, Nakadai's partnership with Kobayashi came to a crescendo.
—NPR, 12 Nov. 2025
The crescendo of my fandom occurred in 2002 when the Angels prevailed over the Giants in the seventh game of the World Series.
—Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Noun
That's when Mercury gives full rein to his operatic urges as the song builds to a purposefully ludicrous crescendo with its references to Scaramouche (a Commedia dell'arte stock character) and octave-hopping Galileos.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for crescendo
Noun
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Our destination was a cluster of coral pinnacles called Rib Reef, on the Great Barrier Reef’s outer edge.—
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For nearly a century, the Oscars stood as a gleaming cathedral to Hollywood prestige, the pinnacle of artistic achievement.—
Verb
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Slow your pace, drink with food, and avoid taking shots, as this can help lower peak blood alcohol levels and reduce strain on your nervous system.—
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Rain totals could reach upwards of 2 inches, and temperatures will peak near 60 degrees overnight.—
Noun
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And with both genres still at the zenith of their popularity in Asia, why change a winning formula?—
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Then, pick a patch of sky 40 degrees away in the direction of your local zenith, which is the point directly above your head.—
Noun
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For homeowners, the couple's guilty pleas marked the culmination of years of financial strain and emotional turmoil.—
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In the recordings, Neves Valente described the attack as the culmination of long planning.—
Noun
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Döpfner nearly bought the FT in 2015, before losing it to Nikkei, and took a controlling stake in Business Insider — at the top of the new media market — for $343 million.—
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Liquid measuring cups have space at the top to prevent overflowing as well as a spout for easy pouring.—
Noun
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Cast members are chosen for pieces, most importantly, based on height and body dimensions.—
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The building will be built into a 40-foot hill, so the height will vary but reaches about 109 feet, or eight stories, on one end.—
Noun
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The principal cast and crew took the stage at the Globes in the climax of the night to receive the award for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy.—
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Tonight’s penultimate episode of season two feels like an anti-climax — not just a letdown generally, but the diametric opposite of a climax.—
Noun
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The young blood’s plan is to kill the Kalis, an apex predator said to be unkillable, and bring its head home to dad, who Dek imagines will finally accept him as his son with the right trophy kill.—
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Then, there's the Kalisk – an apex predator that's apparently unkillable.—
Cite this Entry
“Crescendo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crescendo. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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