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
-
Come for the subtle performances and Agnès Godard’s masterful cinematography; stay for one of the greatest endings in movie history.
-
Beginnings tend to grab our attention and endings seem to linger, but the middle is where most of the good stuff happens.
Noun
-
Season premieres and season finales.
-
The series launched with an hourlong pilot episode and also went hourlong with the Season 2 premiere and a couple of finales, including the series closer.
Noun
-
Chase voiced the character in various sequels and the 2003-2006 TV series.
-
Gray returned to Dallas for the series finale and TV sequels, and later reprised Sue Ellen in the revival.
Noun
-
The lawyer takes the tenets of mindfulness to heart, and Dusse takes both these tenets and his protagonist to absurd – and sometimes shockingly violent – conclusions.
-
Over-reliance on AI for immediate conclusions risks individuals missing the crucial process of building foundational knowledge and critical thinking.
Noun
-
The Netflix dating experiment that promised love sight unseen has produced one of its darkest aftermaths yet.
-
Instead, headlines focus on tragedies and their painful aftermaths instead of prevention.
Noun
-
Unsurprisingly, no player has been involved in more passing sequences leading to shots than the 24-year-old this summer, given complete freedom to roam and dictate attacks with his abilities on the ball.
-
Piercing the sterility of contemporary life with the disruptive transgression of eroticism, Silver’s film features dreamy fantasy sequences that interrupt and disrupt, drawing us expertly into its characters’ sensual and unusual interiority.
Cite this Entry
“Denouements.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denouements. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
