: a type of crime film featuring cynical malevolent characters in a sleazy setting and an ominous atmosphere that is conveyed by shadowy photography and foreboding background music
also
: a film of this type
Examples of film noir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their talent alone, against the snowy backdrop of 1950s Wisconsin farmland, gives the show the classic film noir tone that should have been its foundation.
—
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Multi-hyphenate Edgerton made his feature film directorial debut with the 2008 Australian film noir The Square, written by his brother and frequent collaborator Joel Edgerton.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
In using the language of film noir, Harjo and Hawke get to do a kind of character work that other kinds of stories simply don’t allow.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
Peterson’s black-and-white images, heavy with flash and shadows, evoke film noir and the urban-crime photography of the nineteen-thirties and forties.
—Mark Peterson, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for film noir
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Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Multi-hyphenate Edgerton made his feature film directorial debut with the 2008 Australian film noir The Square, written by his brother and frequent collaborator Joel Edgerton.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
In using the language of film noir, Harjo and Hawke get to do a kind of character work that other kinds of stories simply don’t allow.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2025
Peterson’s black-and-white images, heavy with flash and shadows, evoke film noir and the urban-crime photography of the nineteen-thirties and forties.
—Mark Peterson, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for film noir
Cite this Entry
“Film noir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/film%20noir. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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