variants
also dénouements
as in endings
formal
the final part of something (such as a book, a play, or a series of events)
In the play's denouement, the two lovers kill themselves. the competition's exciting denouement
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Recent Examples of denouements
A number of denouements follow in All That’s Left of You, including a jump forward into 2022, when Hanan and Salim, who now live in Canada, go back to Jaffa and find Salim’s old family home, a run-down oasis of the past in a city determined to forget its history.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for denouements
Noun
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Wrexham’s penchant for Hollywood endings means nothing can be discounted until the mathematicians say so.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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And to jump ahead, the endings are completely different.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some of this positioning has come from their fellow players; finales for the first 40 seasons were packed with bitter jurors who often saved their meanest digs for the women finalists.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2026
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The finales begin April 7 with the season’s last High Potential case and run through May 15 with the final answer and question on Celebrity Jeopardy!—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In their view, the internet — and the first movie’s multiple sequels — already have.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
7 Apr. 2026
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The game saw Mario once again saving a damsel (Princess Peach, then called Toadstool) from his nemesis, Bowser (née King Koopa), which would remain his motivation for countless sequels for decades.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In discussions with others, caution against leaping to conclusions.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
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Another great example of this in action is KPMG’s new early career program focused on human qualities such as critical thinking, data analysis, and drawing conclusions rather than technical know-how.—
Teuila Hanson,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Instead, headlines focus on tragedies and their painful aftermaths instead of prevention.—
Laura Carno,
Denver Post,
24 Sep. 2025
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And although severe natural disasters bring federal relief dollars to areas in their aftermaths, not every major storm that causes flooding qualifies for direct aid from FEMA.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And thus the two narrative sequences come together.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 Apr. 2026
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True to form for Nintendo, though, Mario remains nonverbal in the game, despite its 20-plus hour length and dialogue-heavy sequences.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Denouements.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denouements. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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