What does "allegory" mean?
The use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message, usually a moral or political one, about real-world issues and occurrences; also, the interpretation of such symbols.
Allegory
/ˈælɪɡəɹi/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message, usually a moral or political one, about real-world issues and occurrences; also, the interpretation of such symbols.
- Grammar: allegory is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adventure story, allegorize, allusion, analogy.
- Useful contrasts: direct representation, literal depiction, literal narrative.
- Usage evidence: The ship of fools was a popular allegory in medieval art and literature.
How to use "allegory"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message, usually a moral or political one, about real-world issues and occurrences; also, the interpretation of such symbols. rhetoric, uncountable
"In theſe teſtimonies vvhich they alledge of the ſcripture there are certayne, vvhiche are vvell nere of no vvayghte, but there is none of them, but eyther it is darke vvith the myſte of allegorie: or els it dothe receyue dyuerſe and manifolde interpretations."
- 2 an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor wordnet
- 3 A picture, story, or other form of communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. broadly, countable, uncountable
"[T]houghe ſome woordes ſpoken by the mouthe of Chriſt written in ſcripture, be to be vnderſtanden only by way of a ſimilitude or an allegory: it foloweth not therupõ [thereupon] that of neceſſitye euerye like woorde of Chriſt in other places was none other but an allegory."
- 4 a short moral story (often with animal characters) wordnet
- 5 A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol. broadly, countable, uncountable
"[T]he Harp of Ireland, puts me in mind, of that Glorious Embleme, or Allegory, vvherein the vviſdome of Antiquity, did figure, and ſhadovv out, vvorks of this Nature."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a visible symbol representing an abstract idea wordnet
- 7 A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category. broadly, countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 Synonym of allegorize.; To interpret (a picture, story, or other form of communication) to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. archaic, transitive
- 2 Synonym of allegorize.; To create an allegory (noun noun sense 2.1) from (a character, an event or situation, etc.); also, to use one or more symbols to depict (a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences). archaic, transitive
- 3 Synonym of allegorize.; Followed by away: to treat (something) as allegorical or symbolic rather than as truth. archaic, transitive
- 4 Synonym of allegorize.; To interpret an allegory. archaic, intransitive
- 5 Synonym of allegorize.; To create or use allegory. archaic, intransitive
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
direct representationliteral depictionliteral narrativeliteral reading
Example
"The ship of fools was a popular allegory in medieval art and literature."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "allegory"?
Common synonyms include: adventure story, allegorize, allusion, analogy, apologue, apologue.
How do you use "allegory" in a sentence?
The ship of fools was a popular allegory in medieval art and literature.
How do you pronounce "allegory"?
Pronounced /ˈælɪɡəɹi/.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English allegorie (“symbolic interpretation; symbolism; (Christianity) one of the four methods of interpreting the Bible”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Allegorie is borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegorie and Middle French allegorie (“narrative with a hidden meaning; such a meaning or its interpretation”) (modern French allégorie), and directly from their etymon Latin allēgoria (“figurative or metaphorical language, allegory; parable”) (whence Late Latin allēgoria (“allegorical interpretation of the Bible”)), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λληγορῐ́ᾱ (ăllēgorĭ́ā, “figurative or metaphorical language”), probably from ἀλληγορος (allēgoros, “allegorical”) (though only attested in Byzantine Greek) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀλληγορος (Allēgoros) is derived from ᾰ̓́λλος (ắllos, “another; different”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“beyond; other”)) + ἠγόρ- (ēgór-, the imperfect stem of ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in the assembly; to say, speak”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain inflections of adjectives); and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) from ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́, “assembly; assembly place; market place; speech”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”)) + -εύω (-eúō, suffix forming verbs). The verb is derived from the noun.