dénouer

To untie a knot, literally; figuratively, and very commonly, to resolve or unravel a difficult situation (dénouer une crise, dénouer une intrigue). Its noun form, dénouement, was borrowed directly into English as the standard literary term for a story's resolution.

• Elle a mis dix minutes à dénouer ce nœud. — It took her ten minutes to untie this knot.
• Les deux dirigeants ont réussi à dénouer la crise diplomatique. — The two leaders managed to resolve the diplomatic crisis.
• L'intrigue se dénoue dans le dernier chapitre. — The plot resolves itself in the final chapter.

Learners often only learn the literal "untie a knot" sense and miss that dénouer is the everyday verb for resolving a conflict or crisis — it's at least as common figuratively as literally.

Often confused with nouer.

• expression Dénouement — The noun form of dénouer was borrowed into English in the 18th century and remains the standard literary term for a story's final resolution — pronounced in English much as in French.