epilogue
noun
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From its Greek roots, epilogue means basically "words attached (at the end)". An epilogue often somehow wraps up a story's action, as in the one for a famous Shakespeare play that ends, "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo". In nonfiction books, we now often use the term afterword instead of epilogue, just as we now generally use foreword instead of prologue. Movies also often have a kind of epilogue--maybe a scene after the exciting climax when the surviving lovers meet in a café to talk about their future. The epilogue of a musical composition, after all the drama is over, is called the coda (Italian for "tail").
Examples of epilogue in a Sentence
Greg Evans, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2025
The book shows the romantic aftermath of Shane's coming out to his parents, then segues into an epilogue set months later at a press conference announcing the Irina Foundation charity.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
The nature of Lawrence and Hutcherson’s cameo is being kept under wraps, but book readers already know their characters appear alongside Haymitch in the epilogue, which indicates some sort of flash-forward.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
Perhaps most frustrating is the brevity of the epilogue, which skips over the last lonely years of Douglas Kelley's life after the trial.
—NPR, 11 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for epilogue
Cite this Entry
“Epilogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epilogue. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
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epilogue
noun
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