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• denouement
  denouement

  noun

  the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
• dénouement
  dénouement

  The solution or outcome of the plot of a play or novel: “In the dénouement of many tragedies, the main character dies.”

denouement

American  

[dey-noo-mahn] / ˌdeɪ nuˈmɑ̃ /

Or dénouement

noun

1. the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.

2. the place in the plot at which this occurs.

3. the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.

   Synonyms:

   upshot, end, conclusion, solution

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denouement British  

/ deɪˈnuːmɒn, denumɑ̃ /

noun

1. 1. the final clarification or resolution of a plot in a play or other work

   2. the point at which this occurs

2. final outcome; solution

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dénouement Cultural  

1. The solution or outcome of the plot of a play or novel: “In the dénouement of many tragedies, the main character dies.”

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Etymology

Origin of denouement

First recorded in 1745–55; from French: literally, “an untying,” equivalent to dénouer “to untie,” Old French desnoer ( des- + noer “to knot,” from Latin nōdāre, derivative of nōdus “knot”) + -ment; see de-, -ment

Explanation

You know that part of every movie after the big action scene, where things get explained, and the characters tie up loose ends? That's called the denouement, or the showing of how the plot eventually turns out. Denouement is a French word that literally means the action of untying, from a verb meaning to untie. The English word is pronounced like the French: day-noo-MON. The last syllable has a nasalized vowel instead of the n sound. You can use it outside the context of plays or novels, too: you might describe the denouement of an argument between two friends.

Example Sentences

Least Exciting Denouement: Bristol’s mom Sarah Palin cheers loudly when Mark is killed at the end of their paso doble.

From Time • Oct. 9, 2012

Denouement: the tent burning down, the heroine hanging by the ankles in midair, Cook rushing in to save her.

From Time Magazine Archive

Denouement: the husband learns the awful truth of the intrigue of which he has suspected his wife, and which, of course, was not an intrigue at all.

From Time Magazine Archive

I consider that the Suitcase was the Development, my showing it to Jane Raleigh was the Crisis, and the Denouement or Catastrofe occured later on.

From Bab: a Sub-Deb by Rinehart, Mary Roberts

By Complication I mean all from the beginning of the story to the point just before the change in the hero's fortunes; by Denouement, all from the beginning of the change to the end.

From Aristotle on the art of poetry by Bywater, Ingram

Related Words

• climax
• culmination
• finale