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

Written by noir maestro Dashiell Hammett of Maltese Falcon fame, The Thin Man is lighter than his normal fare and one of cinema’s most playful mysteries, thanks to the adaptation by husband-and-wife team Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2024

On Monday, Netflix unveiled a new Nordic noir series, Harry Hole (working title), based on Nesbo’s novel The Devil’s Star, the fifth in his Harry Hole series about the obsessive, brilliant but introverted titular homicide detective. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024

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