noir
noun
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Definition of noir
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings
an example of classic noir
2
: film noir
a comedy dressed in the trappings of an edgy noir
noir
adjectiveDefinition of noir (Entry 2 of 2)
: having a bleak and darkly cynical quality of the kind associated with hard-boiled crime fiction and film noir
a noir thriller In this boldly styled first novel, Komarnicki follows a 30-year-old homeless man on a noir odyssey of death and survival through the streets of New Orleans and Hong Kong.— Sybil S. Steinberg The plot of this violent fairy tale is as noir and nasty as the characters.— Marilyn Stasio
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Other Words from noir
Noun
noirish
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adjective
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adjective
Examples of noir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The model and actress is known for her platinum blond buzz cut, so her switch to the noir hue made a do a double-take. — Jennifer Ford, Essence, "Amber Rose Shows Off Her Growing Baby Bump and Beautiful Black Hair," 29 Aug. 2019 Lionsgate has acquired the North American and key international rights to Fatale, the Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy-starring noir thriller from The Intruder director Deon Taylor. — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, "Lionsgate Nabs Hilary Swank's Noir Thriller 'Fatale'," 22 Aug. 2019 The new trailer for Amazon’s fantasy noir drama, debuting Aug. 30, shows off the series’ steampunky aesthetic, along with the smoldering romance between Bloom’s human detective and Cara Delevingne‘s refugee faerie. — Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne rekindle romance, hunt a killer in new Carnival Row trailer," 6 Aug. 2019 While previewing Hulu’s revival of Veronica Mars, the noir drama about the titular, once-teenage sleuth, the show’s star Kristen Bell dropped a grim clue. — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, "The Veronica Mars Twist That Undoes a Strong Season," 23 July 2019 This is a classic noir premise: the good man with the dark past who can’t avoid being stained by all the messes he’s created. — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, "Review: Dinosaur-riding Nazis in ‘Iron Sky, The Coming Race’ and more," 18 July 2019 For Brick, Johnson had his actors read Hammett and watch classic screwball comedies like His Girl Friday to bring a lighter touch to the traditional noir genre. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Rian Johnson trades in lightsabers for postmodern whodunnit Knives Out," 2 July 2019 His debut feature, Brick, was a twist on the sunshine noir detective thriller, set in a California high school. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "Watch: the first trailer for Rian Johnson’s Knives Out tips its hat to Agatha Christie," 2 July 2019 But for Judgment, the team wanted someone more grounded to fit the noir vibe. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "How the creators of Yakuza turned hard-boiled detective drama into a game," 20 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
So Dark the Night’ [from 1946, screening June 9] is noir character actor Steven Geray’s only starring role. — Loren King, BostonGlobe.com, "The man who speaks film noir is on a mission," 31 May 2018 The Hollywood blacklist is an ongoing theme of Muller’s backstories; not surprising, since the postwar era was noir’s heyday and its subject matter is by definition dark and often nihilistic. — Loren King, BostonGlobe.com, "The man who speaks film noir is on a mission," 31 May 2018 This narrative style fits the game’s 1950s detective noir film aesthetic. — Michael Moore, The Verge, "A Case of Distrust is a minimalist noir story," 18 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'noir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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