noir

1 of 2

noun

ˈnwär 

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

ˈnwär-ish 

adjective

noir

2 of 2

adjective

: 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

Examples of noir in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Even though my main character is much more French noir than Hollywood silver-screen in her formation, its all in there. —Joanna Howard july 10, Literary Hub, 10 July 2025

The beauty, indeed, pulls it into the gulches of noir. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

Adjective

From there, the film goes off the rails in a noir-ish third act as both Jack and Babbette are sent over the edge and driven to acts of desperation. —Joey Morona, cleveland, 29 Nov. 2022

There are a lot of familiar genre elements, in terms of neo-noir detective stories, as well as classic vigilante superhero stories. —Hazlitt, 21 July 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for film noir

First Known Use

Noun

1977, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1958, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing noir

• beurre noir
• film noir
• pinot noir

Rhymes for noir

• moire
• boudoir