noun · verb · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈælɪɡəɹi/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈælɪɡɹi/
General-American:/ˈæləˌɡɔɹi/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:AE1 L AH0 G AO2 R IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rhetoric, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
Synonym of allegorize.
To create an allegory (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).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
Synonym of allegorize.
Followed by away: to treat (something) as allegorical or symbolic rather than as truth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, transitive
Topics: lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
Synonym of allegorize.
To interpret an allegory.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
Synonym of allegorize.
To create or use allegory.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: expressive style, style
11
noun
Meaning 11
a short moral story (often with animal characters)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Narrower terms: scarlet letter, cupid, donkey, dove, eagle, elephant, fasces, national flag, ensign, hammer and sickle, red flag, Star of David, Shield of David, Magen David, Mogen David, Solomon's seal, badge, Agnus Dei, Paschal Lamb, maple-leaf, medallion, spread eagle, swastika, Hakenkreuz
History
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.
Across languages
Translations
76 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
تَمْثِيل
(tamṯīl)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Armenian:
այլաբանություն
(aylabanutʻyun)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Azerbaijani:
kinayə
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Azerbaijani:
təmsil
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Belarusian:
алего́рыя
(aljehóryja)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Bulgarian:
алего́рия
(alegórija)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Catalan:
al·legoria
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Chinese Mandarin:
諷喻 /讽喻
(fěngyù)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Chinese Mandarin:
託寓 /托寓
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Chinese Mandarin:
寓言
(yùyán)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Czech:
alegorie
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Czech:
jinotaj
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Esperanto:
alegorio
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Finnish:
allegoria
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Finnish:
vertauskuva
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
French:
allégorie
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Galician:
alegoría
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Georgian:
ალეგორია
(alegoria)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
German:
Allegorie
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
German:
Sinnbild
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Greek:
αλληγορία
(alligoría)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Ancient Greek:
ἀλληγορία
(allēgoría)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Hungarian:
allegória
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Indonesian:
alegori
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Irish:
fáthchiall
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Italian:
allegoria
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Japanese:
アレゴリー
(aregorī)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Japanese:
寓話
(gūwa)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Kazakh:
тұспалдау
(tūspaldau)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Kazakh:
аллегория
(allegoriä)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Korean:
알레고리
(allegori)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Korean:
우화
(uhwa)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Lithuanian:
alegorija
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Malay:
alegori
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Māori:
kōrero tairitenga
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Norwegian:
allegori
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Polish:
alegoria
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Portuguese:
alegoria
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Russian:
аллего́рия
(allegórija)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Russian:
иносказа́ние
(inoskazánije)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Scottish Gaelic:
samhla
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Spanish:
alegoría
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Swedish:
allegori
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Swedish:
sinnebild
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Tagalog:
talinhaga
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Thai:
อุปมานิทัศน์
(ùp-bpà-maa-ní-tát)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Ukrainian:
алего́рія
(alehórija)
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Volapük:
lalegor
— use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; the interpretation of such symbols
Bulgarian:
ембле́ма
(embléma)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Bulgarian:
си́мвол
(símvol)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Catalan:
al·legoria
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Chinese Mandarin:
諷喻 /讽喻
(fěngyù)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Chinese Mandarin:
寓言
(yùyán)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Chinese Mandarin:
寓意
(yùyì)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Czech:
alegorie
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Czech:
jinotaj
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Finnish:
allegoria
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Finnish:
vertauskuva
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
French:
allégorie
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Galician:
alegoría
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
German:
Allegorie
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
German:
Sinnbild
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Greek:
αλληγορία
(alligoría)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Ancient Greek:
ἀλληγορία
(allēgoría)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Hebrew:
מָשָׁל
(mashál)
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Italian:
allegoria
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Lithuanian:
alegorija
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Norwegian Bokmål:
allegori
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Polish:
alegoria
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Portuguese:
parábola
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Scottish Gaelic:
samhla
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Serbo-Croatian:
алего̀рија
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Serbo-Croatian:
alegòrija
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Spanish:
alegoría
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Swedish:
allegori
— communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences
Finnish:
allegoria
— category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category
