denouement

noun

de·​noue·​ment ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ  dā-ˈnü-ˌmäⁿ 

variants or less commonly dénouement

plural denouements also dénouements

1

: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a novel, play, film, etc.

In the novel's denouement, the two hostages escape to freedom.

It is an intentionally unsettling denouement, which is in keeping with the tone and purpose of the entire miniseries.

—David Wiegand

2

: the outcome of a complex sequence of events

the competition's exciting denouement

Examples of denouement in a Sentence

In the play's denouement, the two lovers kill themselves.

Recent Examples on the Web

To wrap up the night, the four stars will pair up for a mixed-doubles finale, Osaka and Kyrgios teaming up against Sabalenka and Paul, offering a fun, unpredictable denouement for a one-night exhibition that blends showmanship, elite talent, and holiday-season energy. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025

There are others who are willing to skate past the denouement to where April 2000 resides. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 23 Nov. 2025

Wright had a similar dilemma with his last film, the stylish horror-thriller Last Night in Soho, which promised a very dark denouement but swerved it at the last moment. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025

Everything is soaked in stashes of harsh liquor and inadequately buried tensions, leading to an utterly go-for-broke, ambiguous denouement. —Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French dénouement, literally, untying, from Middle French desnouement, from desnouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des- de- + noer to tie, from Latin nodare, from nodus knot — more at node

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for denouement

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• panopticon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon

Kids Definition

denouement

noun

de·​noue·​ment ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmän  dā-ˈnü-ˌ 

1

: the final solution or untangling of the conflicts or difficulties that make up the plot of a literary work

2

: the outcome of a complicated or difficult situation or sequence of events