film noir
[ nwahr ]
/ nwɑr /
|
noun
a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.
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Nearby words
- film badge,
- film clip,
- film colour,
- film gate,
- film library,
- film pack,
- film recorder,
- film school,
- film set,
- film speed
Origin of film noir
1955–60; < French: literally, black film
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for film noir
Mr. Wright attributes this film-noir fantasy to Garry Scarff, who was never a Scientologist.
Church of Scientology Details Error in Lawrence Wright’s Book|Karen Pouw|January 23, 2013|DAILY BEASTPouw insists that this anecdote is nothing more than “film-noir fantasy” and that Scarff is a “self-admitted inveterate liar.”
film noir
/ (nwɑː) /
noun
a gangster thriller, made esp in the 1940s in Hollywood characterized by contrasty lighting and often somewhat impenetrable plots
Word Origin for film noir
C20: French, literally: black film
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
film noir
1958, from French, literally "black film," from noir (12c.), from Latin niger (see Negro).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper