nouvelle vague
noun
a new wave, trend, movement, phase, etc., especially in an art form.
Jump To:
nouvelle vague
American
[noo-vel vag]
/ nu vɛl ˈvag /
noun
French.
-
nouvelles vagues
plural
-
a new wave, trend, movement, phase, etc., especially in an art form.
-
the films of a group of young French and Italian filmmakers, beginning in the late 1950s, who emphasized conscious manipulation of film techniques and psychological probing instead of plot.
Nouvelle Vague
British
/ nuvɛl vaɡ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nouvelle vague
Literally, “new wave”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The film was based on an idea by François Truffaut, another icon of the nouvelle vague, and began shooting in Paris without a script.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2021
The double bill was an immersion in the black-and-white, Gauloise-enriched universe of nouvelle vague Paris, and exiting the theater onto Bleecker Street became a disorienting extension of the movies, a demonstration of the medium’s power.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2016
In this case, it was mental images of these two great iconic figures of the French nouvelle vague as the younger, more vigorous and physically beautiful figures they once were.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2012
The intention of the nouvelle vague, he said, had been "more personal films", but the results were films which were, in fact, "more than personal: they became narcissistic".
From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2010
Indians incorporated the new pigments into their traditions, expanding them and in the process creating an aesthetic nouvelle vague.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
He adds: “In fact, it already produced the Nouvelle Vague of people like François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Linklater's "Nouvelle Vague," streaming on Netflix from November 14, charts how young French director Jean-Luc Godard defied all filmmaking convention to create his 1960 classic "Breathless."
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Fine Young Cannibals, Pete Yorn and France's Nouvelle Vague are among many other bands to have released cover versions of The Buzzcocks' 1978 hit.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2018
La Pointe Courte came to be regarded as a precursor to the Nouvelle Vague.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 21, 2018
Nouvelle Vague with Liset Alea The Parisian cover band plays new wave and bossa nova. 8 p.m.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2017
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
