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V is like a mythical situation. It's an allegory for what could happen. V has philosophies within it that actually warn against things like that happening.
David Lloyd

Meaning of "allegory" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD ALLEGORY

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.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF ALLEGORY

allegory  [ˈælɪɡərɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF ALLEGORY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Allegory is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES ALLEGORY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a rhetorical device in which characters or events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. Allegory has been used widely throughout the histories of all forms of art; a major reason for this is its immense power to illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and tangible to its viewers, readers, or listeners. An allegory conveys its hidden message through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric; a rhetorical allegory is a demonstrative form of representation conveying meaning other than the words that are spoken. As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. One of the best known examples is "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato. In this allegory, there are a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to the allegory, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality.

Definition of allegory in the English dictionary

The first definition of allegory in the dictionary is 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. Other definition of allegory is the technique or genre that this represents. Allegory is also use of such symbolism to illustrate truth or a moral.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH ALLEGORY


amphigory
ˈæmfɪɡərɪ
buggery
ˈbʌɡərɪ
Calgary
ˈkælɡərɪ
category
ˈkætɪɡərɪ
figgery
ˈfɪɡərɪ
Gregory
ˈɡrɛɡərɪ
Hungary
ˈhʌŋɡərɪ
Nagari
ˈnɑːɡərɪ
niggery
ˈnɪɡərɪ
piggery
ˈpɪɡərɪ
priggery
ˈprɪɡərɪ
skulduggery
skʌlˈdʌɡərɪ
subcategory
ˈsʌbˌkætəɡərɪ
sugary
ˈʃʊɡərɪ
thuggery
ˈθʌɡərɪ
tigery
ˈtaɪɡərɪ
vagary
ˈveɪɡərɪ
vinegary
ˈvɪnɪɡərɪ
Whiggery
ˈwɪɡərɪ
wiggery
ˈwɪɡərɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE ALLEGORY

allegge
Alleghenies
Allegheny Mountains
allegiance
allegiant
allegoric
allegorical
allegorically
allegoricalness
allegories
allegorisation
allegorise
allegoriser
allegorist
allegorization
allegorize
allegorizer
allegretto
Allegri
allegro

WORDS THAT END LIKE ALLEGORY

accessory
advisory
depository
directory
factory
Federal Capital Territory
glory
gory
history
income category
introductory
inventory
ivory
laboratory
memory
phantasmagory
story
territory
theory
victory

Synonyms and antonyms of allegory in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «ALLEGORY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «allegory» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of allegory

Translation of «allegory» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF ALLEGORY

Find out the translation of allegory to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of allegory from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «allegory» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

寓言
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

alegoría
570 millions of speakers

English

allegory
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

रूपक
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الرمز
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

аллегория
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

alegoria
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

রুপকবর্ণনা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

allégorie
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Alegori
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Allegorie
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

アレゴリー
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

우화
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Allegory
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tượng trưng
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

உருவகமாக்கமே
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

रूपक
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

alegori
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

allegoria
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

alegoria
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

алегорія
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

alegorie
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

αλληγορία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

allegorie
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

allegori
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

allegori
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of allegory

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «ALLEGORY»

The term «allegory» is quite widely used and occupies the 42.636 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
80
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «allegory» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of allegory
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «allegory».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «ALLEGORY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «allegory» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «allegory» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about allegory

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «ALLEGORY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word allegory.
1
Theodor W. Adorno
Death is imposed only on creatures, not their creations, and has therefore always appeared in art in a broken form: as allegory.
2
Ken Ham
If you look only as Genesis as an allegory, you have a major problem, because if it's an allegory, then tell me who our ancestor was? If Abraham was real, then from Abraham if Adam isn't real, if it's just an allegory, it's just a story, then what's the real Adam who really fell in a garden and really sinned? Where did we come from?
3
David Lloyd
V is like a mythical situation. It's an allegory for what could happen. V has philosophies within it that actually warn against things like that happening.
4
Naguib Mahfouz
An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.
5
China Mieville
I don't like allegory.
6
Amos Oz
I wrote The Same Sea not as a political allegory about Israelis and Palestinians. I wrote it about something much more gutsy and immediate. I wrote it as a piece of chamber music.
7
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
A priest is he who lives solely in the realm of the invisible, for whom all that is visible has only the truth of an allegory.
8
Chris Terrio
The 'Bourne' movies are great in their own ways; it introduces a whole other sort of allegory about the Bush years. The secrecy and the threats of a big global organization.
9
J. R. R. Tolkien
I dislike allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language.
10
Edmund White
Some writers are so enthralled by ideas (one thinks of Doris Lessing) that their characters become debaters, and their fables approach allegory.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «ALLEGORY»

Discover the use of allegory in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to allegory and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Allegory
Establishes the basis of allegory in moral and religious experience, and goes on to discuss the different modes-mythological, narrative-abstract, figural situational and numerological- adopted to express the variety of experience in ...
John MacQueen, 1970
2
Allegory: The Dynamics of an Ancient and Medieval Technique
Discusses the use of allegory in medieval and classical literature
Jon Whitman, 1999
3
Allegory
imagine waking up in a strange pace. you have no memory of how you got there, nor who you are. one thing becomes increasing clear: this isn't the same world in which you went to sleep. it's ... ALLEGORY
Robby Charters, 2010
4
Interpretation and Allegory: Antiquity to the Modern Period
Concentrating on interpretive allegory, this book's interdisciplinary approach simultaneously opens and organizes new perspectives on historic developments--from pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic commentaries to postmodern critiques.
Jon Whitman, 2003
5
Allegory and Event: A Study of the Sources and Significance ...
In this classic work in patristic studies, R. P. C. Hanson elucidates the views of the third-century theologian Origen on the nature and interpretaion of Scripture.
Richard Patrick Crosland Hanson, 1959
6
The Language of Allegory: Defining the Genre
Along with valuable literary criticism, this book gives us an idea of a whole new revival of the theory of allegory."—Virginia Quarterly Review
Maureen Quilligan, 1992
7
Monuments & Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form
A brilliant examination of the allegorical uses of the female form to be found in the sculpture ornamenting public buildings as well as throughout the history of western art.
Marina Warner, 2000
8
Allegory and Violence
Drawing on a wide range of literary, visual, and critical works in the European tradition, Gordon Teskey provides both a literary history of allegory and a theoretical account of the genre which confronts fundamental questions about the ...
Gordon Teskey, 1996
9
Allegory and Philosophy in Avicenna (Ibn Sina): With a ...
Preface This book explores the interaction among allegory, allegoresis, and philosophy in the thought of the premodern Muslim philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 370/980—428/1037). This is a question of some complexity, and each of the four ...
Peter Heath, 2011
10
Thinking Allegory Otherwise
Indeed, all language is allegorical. This collection proves the truth of this statement, but more importantly, it shows the consequences of it.
Brenda Machosky, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «ALLEGORY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term allegory is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Ms J Contemplates Her Choice
... mystery caller forces her to choose his victims, is less a whodunit and more an allegory grounded in the specificity of Singaporean life. «TODAYonline, Jul 15»
2
5 books that inspired billionaire CEO Elizabeth Holmes
... story has many more layers than you may be aware of, and is a rich allegory on what constitutes morality and how we create meaning in life. «Dodge City Daily Globe, Jul 15»
3
Giant rabbit expected in amphitheater
“Harvey” was a smash hit and a Pulitzer Prize winner on Broadway, adapted into this likeable fable that is also an allegory about tolerance. «Courier-Gazette & Camden Herald, Jul 15»
4
Allegory #670: National democracy, supranational power and the …
File: Angelo Fick writes an allegory on national democracy and supranational power. Photo: Isak Pretorius. I. The Mediterranean gulls had ... «eNCA, Jul 15»
5
Guest Opinion: We can't rid the world of racism, but we can purge it …
I must admit, as I peer out into our society, it confuses me, much like Plato's Allegory of the Cave. If not for the trail of bodies, it has become ... «The Idaho Statesman, Jul 15»
6
Thousands move in and out of schools during the year, creating …
Brian Wiltshire, an Advanced Placement English teacher at Roosevelt, said he starts the school year teaching Plato's “Allegory of the Cave,” ... «Washington Post, Jul 15»
7
An allegorical tale
A few pages into the book and you sense that perhaps it is some kind of an allegory. As you read on you surmise that the Great Field is perhaps ... «Deccan Herald, Jul 15»
8
How artists and individuals creatively resisted Emergency
His Ebar Rajar Pala (Now is the King's Turn to Play) told the story of a megalomaniac actor, but was an allegory of the absolutely powerful, and ... «The Indian Express, Jul 15»
9
The Green Way: Should Rachel Carson be the woman on the $10 bill?
Carson's book — using detailed description and allegory — linked humans using chemicals to kill insects that killed birds and harmed humans. «The Whittier Daily News, Jul 15»
10
'Draupadi Vastrapaharana'enthrals audience
According to Dr. Joshy, Kumaravyasa's genius consisted of his interwoven use of metaphor, allegory and moral thought. The dice game is full of ... «The Hindu, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Allegory [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/allegory>. May 2024 ».
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