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
: 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
Sybil S. SteinbergThe plot of this violent fairy tale is as noir and nasty as the characters.—Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn StasioExamples of noir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebMichael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Park and co-showrunner Don McKellar punched up the spy elements, making Xuande's protagonist, referred to only as the Captain, into more of a noir action hero.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
In 2023, the Venetian publisher Marsilio published his first novel, Byron's Right Foot—a noir mystery set in the lagoon.
—Maddalena Fossati, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Apr. 2024
In a performance both moody and propulsive, Adams relished his echoes of jazz and classic soundtracks from 1950 Hollywood noir soundtracks.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Oozing with noir tropes yet still remarkably original, Francis Spufford’s speculative tale wrestles with trust, truth, and transformation.
—Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024
Oh, and also there’s some dramatized noir crime fiction.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
Ivan Reitman Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Tyson, Carroll Baker, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
Curtis Hanson’s sprawling noir homage, based on James Ellroy’s wonderful novel, follows three cops (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey) tasked with solving a murder in the heart of Los Angeles.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
It’s definitely got the noir aspect to it thanks to the weather.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
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
Back in June, it was announced that Chucky season 2 will feature a reunion of Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano, the three principal actors from the 1996 neo-noir Bound.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2022
But the familiar noir trappings of this thriller about a detective (Park Hae-il) clouded by his attraction to a murder suspect (Tang Wei) disguise the subversions and emotional complications of the twisty plot.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 15 Dec. 2022
Exiled from law enforcement, like many a noir protagonist, Nate must find an alternative route to justice for himself and his community.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2022
Noun
Nonetheless, Central Casting could not have delivered a more cinematic and handsome stylist to capture the dark comedy, the sunshine noir, of Tinseltown.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Park and co-showrunner Don McKellar punched up the spy elements, making Xuande's protagonist, referred to only as the Captain, into more of a noir action hero.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
In 2023, the Venetian publisher Marsilio published his first novel, Byron's Right Foot—a noir mystery set in the lagoon.
—Maddalena Fossati, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Apr. 2024
In a performance both moody and propulsive, Adams relished his echoes of jazz and classic soundtracks from 1950 Hollywood noir soundtracks.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Oozing with noir tropes yet still remarkably original, Francis Spufford’s speculative tale wrestles with trust, truth, and transformation.
—Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2024
Oh, and also there’s some dramatized noir crime fiction.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
Ivan Reitman Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Tyson, Carroll Baker, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt
Curtis Hanson’s sprawling noir homage, based on James Ellroy’s wonderful novel, follows three cops (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey) tasked with solving a murder in the heart of Los Angeles.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
It’s definitely got the noir aspect to it thanks to the weather.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024
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
Back in June, it was announced that Chucky season 2 will feature a reunion of Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano, the three principal actors from the 1996 neo-noir Bound.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2022
But the familiar noir trappings of this thriller about a detective (Park Hae-il) clouded by his attraction to a murder suspect (Tang Wei) disguise the subversions and emotional complications of the twisty plot.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 15 Dec. 2022
Exiled from law enforcement, like many a noir protagonist, Nate must find an alternative route to justice for himself and his community.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'noir.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near noir
Cite this Entry
“Noir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noir. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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