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denouement

[dey-noo-mahn]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.

the place in the plot at which this occurs.

the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.

Also, dé·noue·ment.

Origin:
1745–55; < French: literally, an untying, equivalent to dénouer to untie, Old French desnoer (des- de- + noer to knot < Latin nōdāre, derivative of nōdus knot) + -ment -ment

Synonyms
3. solution, conclusion, end, upshot.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Denouement is a GRE word you need to know.

So is deprave. Does it mean:

to put off to a future time

to make morally bad or evil

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Example Sentences

As yet, the denouement remains unwritten.

He doesn't buy the standard Hollywood story arc that culminates in a feel-good denouement.

But when the denouement comes our eyes widen in astonishment.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

denouement or French dénouement (deɪˈnuːmɒn, denumɑ̃)

—n
1.	a. the final clarification or resolution of a plot in a play or other work
	b. the point at which this occurs
2.	final outcome; solution

[C18: from French, literally: an untying, from dénouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des-de- + noer to tie, knot, from Latin nōdāre, from nōdus a knot; see node]

dénouement or French dénouement

—n

[C18: from French, literally: an untying, from dénouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des-de- + noer to tie, knot, from Latin nōdāre, from nōdus a knot; see node]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

denouement

1752, from Fr. dénouement "an untying" (of plot), from dénouer "untie," from O.Fr. desnouer, from des- "un-, out" (from L. dis-) + nouer "to tie, knot" (from L. nodus "a knot").

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

denouement

in literature, the final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially in a tragedy. Catastrophe is a synonym of denouement. The term is sometimes applied to a similar action in a novel or story.

Learn more about denouement with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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"A young professor I watched in action at one of our large eastern colleges used to stand with his back to the class and mumble explanations of blackboard problems. He was "let out" at the end of two years because students refused to attend his classes. He was given an evasive reason for his dismissal and he left with justifiable bitterness toward the administration. If someone had told him the truth he could have avoided this denouement. Sometimes professors go on for years without any conception of remediable faults which irritate their listeners."

-Mary Barnett Gilson

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denouement

de·noue·ment