climacteric
climacteric
[klʌɪˈmakt(ə)rɪk, ˌklʌɪmakˈtɛrɪk]
noun
[klʌɪˈmakt(ə)rɪk, ˌklʌɪmakˈtɛrɪk]
noun
- a critical period or event
危机期；转折点
the first major climacteric in twentieth-century poetry.
20世纪诗歌第一次主要转折点。
■(Medicine)the period of life when fertility and sexual activity are in decline; (in women) menopause
(医)更年期；（妇女）绝经期
■(Botany)the ripening period of certain fruits such as apples, involving increased metabolism and only possible while still on the tree
(植)（苹果等果实成熟时的）呼吸跃变
- having extreme and far-reaching implications or results; critical
关键的；危机的
Britain must possess so climacteric a weapon in order to deter an atomically armed enemy.
英国须拥有一种非常关键的武器来威慑拥有核武器的敌人。
■(Medicine)occurring at, characteristic of, or undergoing the climacteric; (in women) menopausal
(医)更年期的；（妇女）绝经期的
■(Botany)(of a fruit) undergoing a climacteric
(植)（果实成熟时）呼吸跃变的
- mid 16th cent. (in the sense 'constituting a critical period in life'): from French climactérique or via Latin from Greek klimaktērikos, from klimaktēr 'critical period', from klimax 'ladder, climax'
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