theme

theme

noun \ˈthēm\

Definition of THEME

1

a : a subject or topic of discourse or of artistic representation <guilt and punishment is the theme of the story> b : a specific and distinctive quality, characteristic, or concern <the campaign has lacked a theme>

2

: stem 4

3

: a written exercise : composition <a research theme>

4

: a melodic subject of a musical composition or movement

— themed \ˈthēmd\ adjective

Examples of THEME

1. The quest for power is the underlying theme of the film.
2. A constant theme in his novels is religion.
3. The playwright skillfully brings together various themes.
4. The album focuses on themes of love and loss.
5. Adventures are popular themes in children's books.
6. The growing deficit was a dominant theme in the election.
7. The party had a Hawaiian luau theme.
8. They played the theme from the movie “Rocky.”
9. If one theme unites his scholarship it is that the Old South cannot be viewed as a monolith. —Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review, 8 Apr. 2007
10. One reiterated theme of his book is that the electoral process can be the most dangerous of delusions, tending to confer a spurious legitimacy on those most willing to corrupt it. —Hilary Mantel, New York Review, 21 Sept. 2006
11. The Eve of biblical legend was a temptress, thus initiating a lamentable theme in the history of sexism. —Stephen Jay Gould, Discover, July 1992

Origin of THEME

Middle English teme, theme, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin thema, from Greek, literally, something laid down, from tithenai to place — more at do

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to THEME

Synonyms: content, motif, motive, question, subject, matter, topic

Related Words: subject matter; talking point; count, idea, point, purpose; consideration, issue, problem; body, bulk, burden, centerpiece, core, crux, essence, fundamental, generality, gist, grist, heart, kernel, keynote, main, marrow, mass, net, nub, nubbin, nucleus, pith, pivot, purport, quick, staple, substance, sum; basis; bottom, essential, essentiality; affair, argument, debate

Near Antonyms: aside, digression, excursion, interjection, parenthesis, tangent

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with THEME

beam, bream, cream, deem, deme, dream, gleam, meme, neem, Nîmes, ream, scheme, scream, seam, seem, seme, steam, stream, team, teem