noir

noun \ ˈnwär \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 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 first trailer for the series has finally arrived, unveiling a dark noir set in the creepiest corners of Hollywood.

— yohana desta, HWD, "I Am the Night: Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins Pause Wonder Woman for Noir," 2 July 2018
My choices looked promising—a topical sci-fi noir with an A-list star, an Aussie apocalypse drama and a raucous girls-trip comedy.

— taylor antrim, Vogue, "Which (If Any) of These New Netflix Original Movies Should You Watch?," 23 May 2018
When in doubt, opt for a medium-bodied crowd-pleaser grape: Pinot noir for reds.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "How to Order Wine at a Restaurant," 6 Dec. 2016
Night Call is a moody game with a noir aesthetic set in Paris.

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "PC Gaming Show E3 2018: Everything and the kitchen sink," 12 June 2018
The noir color scheme appears to be an ongoing trend for the model, who also wore all-black for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Bella Hadid Is Clearly Here to Slay at the Met Gala," 7 May 2018
That may sound like the makings of a slick, futuristic riff on Minority Report, but what Niccol has really crafted with Anon is a good old-fashioned noir.

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "Netflix’s Anon is an augmented reality neo-noir nightmare," 4 May 2018
Of course, Zorn's virtuosic Naked City quintet, which zipped from genre to genre at breakneck speed, famously drew inspiration from noir—its 1990 debut album used a grisly black-and-white crime-scene photo from 1940 as its cover.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "Jazz / Music / Post No Bills Bay Area bassist Lisa Mezzacappa emerges as a dynamic bandleader on two recent albums," 19 Jan. 2018
Under the Silver Lake starts out as an homage but goes somewhere more startling Under the Silver Lake is best categorized as sunshine noir, not least for its setting.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "The twisted Under the Silver Lake injects paranoia into its gleeful neo-noir pastiche," 18 May 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

The plot of this violent fairy tale is as noir and nasty as the characters.
—Marilyn Stasio

Recent Examples of noir from the Web

So Dark the Night’ [from 1946, screening June 9] is noir character actor Steven Geray’s only starring role.

— loren king, BostonGlobe.com, "The man who speaks film noir is on a mission," 31 May 2018
The Hollywood blacklist is an ongoing theme of Muller’s backstories; not surprising, since the postwar era was noir’s heyday and its subject matter is by definition dark and often nihilistic.

— loren king, BostonGlobe.com, "The man who speaks film noir is on a mission," 31 May 2018
This narrative style fits the game’s 1950s detective noir film aesthetic.

— michael moore, The Verge, "A Case of Distrust is a minimalist noir story," 18 Mar. 2018