denouement

noun

de·​noue·​ment ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ  dā-ˈnü-ˌmäⁿ 

variants or less commonly dénouement

plural denouements also dénouements

1

: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a novel, play, film, etc.

In the novel's denouement, the two hostages escape to freedom.

It is an intentionally unsettling denouement, which is in keeping with the tone and purpose of the entire miniseries.

—David Wiegand

2

: the outcome of a complex sequence of events

the competition's exciting denouement

Examples of denouement in a Sentence

In the play's denouement, the two lovers kill themselves.

Recent Examples on the Web

In his call, Howie rode the rhetorical surplus of the inning’s rising action into the denouement of Alonso’s homer. —Joshua Dubler, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025

Others, not without justice, will skip the climax and denouement altogether, so obviously and suddenly does the production betray its early triumphs. —Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

Ukraine in focus The two heads of states' Thursday talks also touched on a second key concern for Trump — accelerating the denouement of the war in Ukraine and European proactivism in increasing defense spending. —Ruxandra Iordache,sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 28 Feb. 2025

And during the famously bloody denouement — when all but one of the remaining characters are killed, in a matter of minutes — the bodies of Gertrude, Laertes and Claudius tumble down the deck and out of sight, one by one, leaving only the dying Hamlet, cradled by his friend Horatio. —Houman Barekat, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French dénouement, literally, untying, from Middle French desnouement, from desnouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des- de- + noer to tie, from Latin nodare, from nodus knot — more at node

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for denouement

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• panopticon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon

Kids Definition

denouement

noun

de·​noue·​ment ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmän  dā-ˈnü-ˌ 

1

: the final solution or untangling of the conflicts or difficulties that make up the plot of a literary work

2

: the outcome of a complicated or difficult situation or sequence of events