dénouement means the conclusion or resolution of a plot; unravelling.
dénouement is pronounced /deˈnuːmɑ̃/.
Why “dénouement” is a great word
The final resolution or unravelling of the plot in a narrative, such as a play or novel. From the French dénouement ('resolution,' literally 'unknotting'), from Middle French desnouement, from desnouer ('to untie'), from Old French des- ('dis-') + nouer ('to tie, knot'), from Latin nodus ('knot'), first attested in English in 1752. Unlike 'climax,' which marks the point of highest tension and drama, or 'epilogue,' which offers a concluding commentary extending beyond the main plot, dénouement is the specific moment of release, the knot finally loosened. It is the murderer revealed, the lovers reunited, the will discovered in the locked drawer—the accumulated tension of hundreds of pages slackening into something like breath. It is the quiet after the pistol shot, the empty stage after the curtain, the reader's own held shoulders dropping as they understand, at last, how the thing was always going to end.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French dénouement (“resolution”, literally “unknotting”).
noun
- The conclusion or resolution of a plot; unravelling.e.g.“Emily was a great favourite with him; and he had always viewed the attachment, at whose dénouement between her and Lorraine, Lady Mandeville meant to preside, as a somewhat foolish romance.”
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