allegory

[ al-uh-gawr-ee, -gohr-ee ]

See synonyms for allegory on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural al·le·go·ries.

a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.
a symbolical narrative: the allegory of Piers Plowman.

emblem (def. 3).

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allegory vs. metaphor allegory vs. parable

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Origin of allegory

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English allegorie, from Latin allēgoria, from Greek allēgoría, derivative of allēgoreîn “to speak so as to imply something else; speak allegorically,” equivalent to állos “other, another” + agoreúein “to speak (in an assembly), address, harangue,” a derivative of agorá; see origin at allo-, agora¹

Other words for allegory

2	fable, parable

See synonyms for allegory on Thesaurus.com

Words Nearby allegory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use allegory in a sentence

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a once-in-a-generation show, transforming supernatural teen pulp into an allegory for growing up and becoming a stronger, more complex and, in some ways, more wounded person than you ever thought you’d be.
The New Class of Comfort TV: 16 Shows to Watch When You Run Out of Friends and The Office | Eliana Dockterman | February 10, 2021 | Time
That said, I don’t want to twist it into an allegory about leadership and collective sacrifice in times of crisis.
The 2020 Sweat Science Holiday Book List | Alex Hutchinson | December 16, 2020 | Outside Online
Defining dataTo understand what data is, and how to govern it, metaphors and allegories can be helpful.
Fair value? Fixing the data economy | Claire Beatty | December 3, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
It’s an allegory, surely, but not one intentionally played for laughs.
The short, strange life of Quibi | Brian Heater | October 23, 2020 | TechCrunch
Besides setting up unrealistic ideals of love, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks-starrer You’ve Got Mail became a timeless allegory for the charming independent bookstore.
How a tiny Delhi bookstore helped Indians around the country keep reading during coronavirus | Manavi Kapur | August 7, 2020 | Quartz

He insisted that he had not intended the novel to be political allegory, while knowing full well that it would be taken as such.
American Dreams: How Bush Shaped Our Reading of Roth’s ‘The Plot Against America’ | Nathaniel Rich | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A “Crime of the Century” that takes on mythic dimensions as an allegory of a city in decline.
The Myth of the Central Park Five | Edward Conlon | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They are, after all, carefully selected “types,” and to isolate them runs the risk of seeing the book as an allegory.
Albert Camus, Our Existential Epidemiologist | Malcolm Jones | October 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Seizing on this scene, critics called the novel “an allegory of our violent times.”
American Dreams: A Best-Selling Pint-Sized Psychopath | Nathaniel Rich | June 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
By using allegory, Percy both engages and sidesteps difficult questions.
The Werewolf Novel as Post-9/11 Political Allegory? | Roxane Gay | May 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Many rabbis have regarded the formation of Adam and Eve and their adventure as an allegory.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
So that, besides the allegory, we have four dimensions of matter instead of three.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
But the spirit of allegory, which has never been lost, may be traced throughout these barbarous discourses.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
Its allegory, its learned literary allusions, its delving into obscure historic events, preclude any hope of popular success.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer
allegory is a narrative in which material things and circumstances are used to illustrate and enforce high spiritual truths.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

British Dictionary definitions for allegory

allegory

/ (ˈælɪɡərɪ) /

nounplural -ries

a poem, play, picture, etc, in which the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning
the technique or genre that this represents

use of such symbolism to illustrate truth or a moral
anything used as a symbol or emblem

Origin of allegory

C14: from Old French allegorie, from Latin allēgoria, from Greek, from allēgorein to speak figuratively, from allos other + agoreuein to make a speech in public, from agora a public gathering

Derived forms of allegory

allegorist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for allegory

allegory

[ (al-uh-gawr-ee) ]

A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several symbols (see also symbol) or metaphors. For example, in The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, the character named Christian struggles to escape from a bog or swamp. The story of his difficulty is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good life in the “bog” of this world. The “bog” is a metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back, this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of sin that he has been carrying.

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