denouement
noun
de·noue·ment
| \ ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ
, dā-ˈnü-ˌmä\
, dā-ˈnü-ˌmä\
variants:
or less commonly dénouement
Definition of denouement
1
: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work
In the denouement, the two lovers commit suicide.
2
: the outcome of a complex sequence of events
Examples of denouement in a Sentence
In the play's denouement, the two lovers kill themselves.
Recent Examples on the Web
In truth, the denouement was hardly a thing of beauty, with both men, clearly spent, fighting themselves and the tension of the moment as much as the guy on the other side of the net. — Brian Mahoney, BostonGlobe.com, "Berrettini outlasts Monfils to reach US Open semifinals," 5 Sep. 2019 Were the film building to a particularly tragic denouement, then the spiraling narrative of three women getting sucked deeper into a life of crime might make more sense. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "The Kitchen Can’t Figure Out What Kind of Gangster Film It Is," 9 Aug. 2019 But after test audiences reacted unfavorably to the not-so-cheery denouement, the end of the film was re-shot to show Audrey and Seymour going off the live happily-ever-after in the suburbs. — Melanie Savage, courant.com, "AHM Youth Summer Theater Presents “Little Shop Of Horrors”," 7 Aug. 2019 But everything after Neil Armstrong’s step for man/leap for mankind was a denouement, ever less marvelous. — Los Angeles Times, "The moon landing: the TV show of the (half) century," 19 July 2019 And in tragedy, catastrophe is what necessitates the resolution of the plot; there is no denouement without it. — Randy Rosenthal, latimes.com, "They were Bosnian refugees. But to Aleksandar Hemon, they’re ‘My Parents’," 11 June 2019 That terrible denouement was perfectly foreseeable, but Mr. ElBaradei and others were blinded by their hatred of the Islamists and their faith in the army. — James Traub, WSJ, "‘Into the Hands of the Soldiers’ Review: Arab Spring, Egypt’s Fall," 14 Aug. 2018 Teamwork, competition, obstacles to be overcome, and the ultimate high-stakes denouement. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "See Science Fair even if you’ve never entered one in your life," 16 Sep. 2018 After all, his character’s demise is the denouement of the first season. — Alex Bhattacharji, WSJ, "Alexander Skarsgård in His Element," 6 Sep. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'denouement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for denouement
denouement
noun
English Language Learners Definition of denouement
formal
: the final part of something (such as a book, a play, or a series of events)
See the full definition for denouement in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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