果ては|はてはhateha[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. expressionin the end; on top of that

• Synonym挙句あげくNeutralMarks what comes after a long drawn-out process; typically 「〜た挙句」. Mostly negative outcomes, but can also lead into a neutral conclusion.
• Synonym結局けっきょくNeutralThe most all-purpose way to say 'in the end, after all'; it does not carry the 'even' escalation that 「果ては」 implies.
• SynonymとうとうNeutralSays 'finally, at last', for good or bad outcomes alike, as in 「とうとう破産した」; no 'even' escalation nuance.
• SynonymついにNeutralSays 'finally, in the end'; with a negative it means something never happened right up to the last, as in 「ついに実現しなかった」.
• Synonym挙句の果てあげくのはてNeutralCovers ending up somewhere after a lot of back-and-forth, usually with a bad result, as in 「挙句の果てに喧嘩した」; close in feel to 「果ては」.
• RelatedつまりNeutralMeans 'in other words, that is to say', restating something; it has no sense of escalation.
• Related末にすえにNeutralUsed after a long process in the pattern 「〜の末に」, as in 「悩んだ末に」.
• RelatedつまるところNeutralMeans 'when you get right down to it', summing things up; 「果ては」 instead stresses a situation escalating to an extreme.
• Related畢竟ひっきょうWrittenWritten/formal prose; means 'after all, at bottom', with an argumentative, reasoning flavor.
• RelatedさしずめNeutralCovers 'when it comes to it, as things stand now', as in 「さしずめ〜といったところ」.
• Antonym始めははじめはNeutralMeans 'at first, in the beginning' — the opposite pole to the final stage that 「果ては」 points to.

Say 「結局」 for 'in the end' and 「とうとう」 for 'finally, at last'. Use 「果ては」 when things escalate step by step until they even reach a certain point, as in 「泣き出し、果ては怒り出した」. For 'at first' say 「始めは」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 最後さいごには；その上うえさらに悪わるいことに。