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
: 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
Sybil S. SteinbergThe plot of this violent fairy tale is as noir and nasty as the characters.—Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn StasioExamples of noir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Abbey Hudetz, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2025
But damn it, a noir hero still cares.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
Emma Alpern, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
The film starts small, in a tight space, but the thrum of the city—its physical energy and its mighty administrative infrastructure—gives it a tension, a sense of ambient conflict that will, soon enough, turn an ordinary night into a neo-noir nightmare.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for noir
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The monochrome noir look is a default of fashion house designers and global creatives—basic is far from boring in Milan.
—Abbey Hudetz, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2025
But damn it, a noir hero still cares.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The former, Sterlin Harjo’s new neo-noir series, stars Ethan Hawke as a muckraking freelance journalist in Tulsa who stands up to the corrupt Washberg family.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
The film starts small, in a tight space, but the thrum of the city—its physical energy and its mighty administrative infrastructure—gives it a tension, a sense of ambient conflict that will, soon enough, turn an ordinary night into a neo-noir nightmare.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for noir
Cite this Entry
“Noir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noir. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share