Added 10 October 2026
allegory
/ˈælɪɡəɹi/ noun
In Latin: allēgoria Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about allegory at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- 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.
- 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. A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol. A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category.
- 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.
verb
- 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. 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). Followed by away: to treat (something) as allegorical or symbolic rather than as truth. To interpret an allegory. To create or use allegory.
- To interpret (a picture, story, or other form of communication) to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
- 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).
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)