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Allegory: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Allegory noun. A story, poem or picture in which characters and events stand for deeper ideas, often moral or political.
How to say it
AL-ih-guh-ree/ˈalɪɡ(ə)ri/ · American /ˈæləɡɔːri/
4 syllables, stressed on the first (AL). Forms: allegories, allegorical.
Allegory in a sentence
Animal Farm is an allegory in which the farmyard stands for a revolution gone wrong.
Some readers saw the children's film as an allegory about climate change.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- parable
- fable
- symbolism
- metaphor
Where allegory comes from
From Greek allēgoria, speaking otherwise, from allos, other, and agoreuein, to speak in public.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Some readers saw the children's film as an _____ about climate change.
- allegory
- neologism
- epithalamium
Show the answer
allegory: Some readers saw the children's film as an allegory about climate change.