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

While the crime plot is an obvious highlight, I was stunned by Tilly and Gershon’s incredible chemistry and the rejection of stereotypical noir tropes. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 June 2026

However long and tangled her rap sheet, Sugar sees her illuminatory potential through the grime and shadows of an unforgiving film-noir cityscape. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026

Adjective

When Aaron Paul’s Jeff attempts to make a suspicious deposit, the bank teller (a game Nina Dobrev) demands to be in on the deal, in the sort of neo-noir twist that could suggest a rich film world populated with bizarre freaks of all stripes. — Elena Lazic, Variety, 26 June 2026

The latest example is The Get Out, a comic neo-noir thriller directed by Derrick Borte (with whom the actor worked on Unhinged, a film with a very different tone). — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026

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