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

As Squid Game marched through its final six episodes to a stunningly dark denouement (including that A-list cameo from Cate Blanchett for the final coda), Myung-gi was there all along, his fate uncertain to the bitter end. —Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2025

Over the five intense days of reporting the event, runup to denouement, much of the journalism generated was simply reporting the extraordinary outlay, with a nod to the intensely romantic profile of the city’s fragile archipelago and its lagoon. —Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

The denouement, with the staff reeling from some bad news about a friend and colleague, is juxtaposed with the sound of music and dancing outside as the women of the shelter grasp at a sense of normalcy. —Tiara Ataii, Vulture, 24 June 2025

Their consequences range from a bigger, bloodier Middle Eastern mess to a potentially surprising diplomatic denouement: a far stronger nuclear deal than President Donald Trump could have gotten just a few days ago. —Hal Brands, Twin Cities, 16 June 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