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denouement - 4 dictionary results

de⋅noue⋅ment

  [dey-noo-mahn]
Use denouement in a Sentence
–noun
1. the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
2. the place in the plot at which this occurs.
3. the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.
Also, dé⋅noue⋅ment.

Origin:
1745–55; < F: lit., an untying, equiv. to dénouer to untie, OF desnoer (des- de- + noer to knot < L nōdāre, deriv. of nōdus knot) + -ment -ment

Synonyms:
3. solution, conclusion, end, upshot.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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de·noue·ment also dé·noue·ment   (dā'nōō-mäɴ')   
n.  
    1. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.
    2. The events following the climax of a drama or novel in which such a resolution or clarification takes place.
  2. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

[French dénouement, from Old French desnouement, an untying, from desnouer, to undo : des-, de- + nouer, to tie (from Latin nōdāre, from nōdus, knot; see ned- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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