Definition of "dénouement" [denouement]

• The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. (noun)
• The events following the climax of a drama or novel in which such a resolution or clarification takes place. (noun)
• The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "To allege that one romantic comedy stole from another because they both end with weddings would fail on the grounds that such a denouement is a scène à faire for romantic comedies."
• "The revelation in the mystery's denouement is so shocking and smart that the entire tale is turned upside down."
• "I concocted a whole list of factual statements about a supposed crime, rather in the way a detective might in the closing stages of a criminal investigation just before the denouement is reached, and decided to let the students solve the mystery."