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
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
In sports, especially, where career timelines are often compressed, the difference between abrupt endings and seamless transitions usually comes down to this kind of enterprise mindset.—
Sandra Richards,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
-
This planet strips away illusions, forcing transformation through endings, intensity and uncomfortable truths.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
And even though the season eventually ended with Ruben Studdard taking home the title, Aiken still finished runner up in one of the closest finales the show has seen.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
-
Thirty-six of those series reached a Game 7, with the 3-1 team posting a 23-13 record in the finales.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster joined Meadow, who was donning a black blazer and a hefty Celine belt, at the event to celebrate the original film (released June 22, 2001) and its many sequels and spinoffs.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
-
During a wintry white-out, Kris drives to her home to hopefully entreat Billy to star in the remake Kris is developing, which is meant to wipe the slate clean of the many bad sequels and reboots.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
But too few of those ideas yield satisfying conclusions, resulting in a drama that becomes treacly and insubstantial, reaching for a profundity that remains elusive.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
-
But John Healey, a former Senate Republican chief of staff who is now Stewart’s senior adviser, cautioned against jumping to conclusions.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The Netflix dating experiment that promised love sight unseen has produced one of its darkest aftermaths yet.—
Hanna Wickes,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Instead, headlines focus on tragedies and their painful aftermaths instead of prevention.—
Laura Carno,
Denver Post,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One important tool in early natural-language-processing work was ranking the frequency of word sequences.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The material, known as SAM, combines protein sequences derived from mussels, spider silk and amyloids, proteins capable of forming strong fibrous structures.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Denouements.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denouements. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
