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

Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera, and Annita McVeigh are set to begin their employment tribunal against the BBC on March 17 in London, marking the denouement of a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two years. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2025

Still, Mickey's personal journey from self-hating nihilist to unlikely hero with a newfound awareness of his worth leads to an uncharacteristically optimistic denouement from Bong. —Megan McCluskey, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025

By then, the staging — especially a scene-seating capsizing of the boat, which makes room for the lifeboat — was in place, and the gruesome denouement also remained. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Jan. 2025

Advertisement Movies ‘Gladiator II’ exaggerates, but historians say the real-life Colosseum was plenty wild Nov. 22, 2024 The increasing strain of U.S. isolationism has led many to consider the pending denouement of another empire, this one American. —Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 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