film noir

[nwahr]

noun

a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.

Origin of film noir

1955–60; < French: literally, black film

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for film noir

Contemporary Examples of 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
Pouw insists that this anecdote is nothing more than “film-noir fantasy” and that Scarff is a “self-admitted inveterate liar.”
Scientology vs. Lawrence Wright
Caitlin Dickson
January 23, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for film noir

film noir

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

Word Origin and History for film noir

1958, from French, literally "black film," from noir (12c.), from Latin niger (see Negro).