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

To further immerse you in the noir setting, the series is being released in both black and white and color. —Tracy Brown, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026

Each pilgrim’s tale is told in a distinct narrative style, ranging from detective noir to tragic romance to theological inquiry. —Literary Hub, 15 May 2026

Adjective

Amatullo also was a line producer on Above Suspicion (1995), starring Christopher Reeve and Joe Mantegna, and an executive producer on the John Herzfeld neo-noir 2 Days in the Valley (1996) and on the Reelz reality series Beverly Hills Pawn in 2013-14. —Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026

Ranch Productions has started principal photography on the neo-noir thriller written and directed by Heidi James, inspired by the Off-Broadway play Never The Same Rhyme Twice by Andy Rooster Bloch. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 May 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