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Webster 1913 Edition


Denouement


Déˊnoueˊment′

,
Noun.
[F.
dénouement
, fr.
dénouer
to untie; pref.
dé-
(L.
dis-
) +
nouer
to tie, fr. L.
nodus
knot, perh. for
gnodus
and akin to E.
knot
.]
1.
The unraveling or discovery of a plot; the catastrophe, especially of a drama or a romance.
2.
The solution of a mystery; issue; outcome.

Webster 1828 Edition


Denouement

DENOUEMENT

,
Noun.
The unraveling or discovery of a plot.

Definition 2024


denouement

denouement

See also: dénouement

English

Noun

denouement (plural denouements)

  1. Alternative spelling of dénouement
    • 2005, Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril:
      The denouement is the moment when all of the knots of a story are untied, [] But the denouement should not be confused with the end of a story.
    • 2013 June 29, Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
      Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.