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

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

While the events of the story’s first half (the nap, the return) remain familiar, the less famous denouement is crucial to understanding Irving’s purpose. —John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025

Their interactions are both awkward and born from unspoken trauma, with a special heirloom that awaits Jung in the denouement. —David John Chávez, Mercury News, 3 Oct. 2025

To be sure, Grey’s novel is a literary protest against the mistreatment of American Indians by the federal government and Christian missionaries, and his original denouement is a little more complicated. —Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 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