allegorize

especially British, al·le·go·rise

[al-i-guh-rahyz]

verb (used with object)

allegorized, allegorizing 

1. to make into an allegory; narrate allegorically.

2. to understand in an allegorical sense; interpret allegorically.

verb (used without object)

allegorized, allegorizing 

1. to use allegory.

allegorize

/ ˈælɪɡəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to transform (a story, narrative, fable, etc) into or compose in the form of allegory

2. (tr) to interpret allegorically

Other Word Forms

• allegorization noun
• allegorizer noun
• overallegorize verb (used with object)
• unallegorized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of allegorize¹

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin allēgorīzāre; allegory, -ize

Example Sentences

It tweaked the movie-cowboy archetype at a time when westerns allegorized the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.

From New York Times

Shostakovich flagrantly abuses these genres to allegorize how most of the men in his opera treat most of the women.

From New York Times

If it’s an allegory, it trivializes whatever it’s allegorizing.

From Washington Post

And by using predator-prey relationships to allegorize human power structures, the film almost inevitably incorporates a worldview in which the rulers’ power derives from their biological superiority.

From Washington Post

Its 2199 allegorizes the condition of the laboring classes at the end of our 20th century.

From Salon

Related Words

• clarify 
• delineate 
• depict 
• embody 
• emphasize 
• epitomize 
• exhibit 
• explain 
• expose 
• highlight 
• illuminate 
• interpret 
• lay out 
• manifest 
• mark 
• mirror 
• personify 
• point up 
• portray 
• represent