NOUVELLE VAGUE Meaning of NOUVELLE VAGUE in English [ nu:ˌvɛl'vα:g ]■ noun a grouping of French film directors in the late 1950s and 1960s who sought to make stylistically innovative films.OriginFr., lit. 'new wave'. Concise Oxford English vocab. Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка. 2004