Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

noir

/ˈnwɑɹ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.48 in modern English

Syllables: noir
IPA: /ˈnwɑɹ/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre

noun

Uncountable

noun

A production in the style of film noir.

Countable

Example Sentences

"As a neo-Sherlock Holmes, however, Mulder is also a very noir version of the classic detective (just as Scully is a very noir Watson)."
"Several noirs, including “Raw Deal,” have been set here."

Etymology

Shortened from film noir, and from French noir. Doublet of negro.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: noir

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈnwɑɹ/
British English: /ˈnwɑː/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more noir (comparative) most noir (superlative) noirs (plural)

Derived Forms

cybernoir noirish

Phrases

cabinet noir neo-noir Nordic noir pinot noir retro-noir rouge et noir Scandinavian noir Scandi-noir

Rhymes With

loire moir are their our far car star bar water bar standard star christmas star

Questions

How do you pronounce noir?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnwɑɹ/.
What does noir mean?: Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
Where does noir come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce noir

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “noir”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈnwɑɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “noir”.
Repeat and practice — Say “noir” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.