noir

1 of 2

noun

ˈnwär 

1

: crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings

an example of classic noir

2

: film noir

a comedy dressed in the trappings of an edgy noir

noirish

ˈnwär-ish 

adjective

noir

2 of 2

adjective

: having a bleak and darkly cynical quality of the kind associated with hard-boiled crime fiction and film noir

a noir thriller

In this boldly styled first novel, Komarnicki follows a 30-year-old homeless man on a noir odyssey of death and survival through the streets of New Orleans and Hong Kong.

—Sybil S. Steinberg

The plot of this violent fairy tale is as noir and nasty as the characters.

—Marilyn Stasio

Examples of noir in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This William Friedkin neo-noir masterpiece all but swept the 44th Academy Awards. —Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026

Helping bring the game’s supernatural noir atmosphere to life is award-winning composer Chase Bethea. —Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 11 June 2026

Adjective

His surreal, neo-noir thriller follows jazz musician Frank Madison (Bill Pullman), who is accused of murdering his wife (Patricia Arquette). —Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 10 June 2026

Francis Ford Coppola meditates on the question of who is watching the watchmen in The Conversation, a neo-noir mystery thriller about the human side of surveillance. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for film noir

First Known Use

Noun

1977, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1958, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing noir

• beurre noir
• film noir
• pinot noir

Rhymes for noir

• moire
• boudoir