noir

noun \ ˈnwär \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of noir

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

play \ˈnwär-ish\ adjective

Recent Examples of noir from the Web

The complaint sketches the outlines of a tale worthy of a noir novel.

— william k. rashbaum, New York Times, "Twisted Tale of Stolen Chagall Nears Ending," 12 Apr. 2018
Lynch uses the noir genre to set up, and subvert, our expectations Blue Velvet’s plot is simple.

— tara isabella burton, Vox, "Great movies about faith are hard to come by. Enter Blue Velvet.," 5 Apr. 2018
Margot Robbie’s next film keeps getting described as a neo-noir.

— jacob kastrenakes, The Verge, "New trailers: Westworld season 2, The Handmaid’s Tale, and more," 31 Mar. 2018
This case has everything a noir drama ought to: suspense, deception and plenty of twists.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now," 30 Mar. 2018
The Fox drama is based on the Dennis Lehane neo-noir novel that was later turned into a film directed by Ben Affleck.

— nina metz, chicagotribune.com, "Three broacast network TV pilots confirmed to film in Chicago," 26 Feb. 2018
Fortunately, Pacino isn’t dialing things up in his big return to the screen—his detective Frank Keller is a charming, but shambling screw-up, a perfect noir hero in what amounts to a solid genre exercise.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "The Many Eras of Al Pacino's Stardom," 25 Mar. 2018
Although set in the present, the show is a direct descendant of 1940s noir films, in which an isolated man wanders through a venal Los Angeles, dealing with con men, gangsters, and a smart-cracking blonde.

— rachel syme, The New Republic, "HBO’s "Barry" refreshes elements of noir, as a hitman dreams of Hollywood.," 23 Mar. 2018
The story could be seen as taking place in the same cinematic universe as Side Effects, Soderbergh’s terrific 2013 noir that took a similarly skeptical, maybe a little alarmist look at corruption within the medical industry.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Claire Foy Gives a Star Turn in Harrowing Unsane," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'noir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of noir

short for film noir

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1977

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

noir

adjective

Definition of noir

: 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