as in parable
a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life Dr. Seuss's story "The Sneetches" is a telling allegory about tolerance for people's differences

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of allegory The Terror from Beyond Space served up slimy green men and Red Scare allegories, the period covered by Baron abounds with optimism and wonder. David Kamp, Air Mail, 23 Aug. 2025 Trans allegories abound in horror fiction, but vampires just might be the hottest one of all. Samantha Allen, Them., 22 Aug. 2025 The filmmaker spoke in the past about how the final section of the movie is an allegory for his own personal and familial struggles with alcoholism. EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025 In this place, the gyre is no longer allegory. Alaa Alqaisi august 13, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for allegory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allegory
Noun
  • Throughout, in interviews with Costa, Malafaia justifies his political aspiration with Biblical parables.
    Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Based on the children’s book Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth and inspired heavily by Zen koans (short Zen Buddhist parables) the show takes a mindful approach to storytelling that’s quiet and engaging for kids and adults alike.
    Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 31 July 2025
Noun
  • Swift’s dismay about a powerful ex became a fable for any girl courted by an older guy.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
  • This fable includes abuse and hatred, darkness, magic, love.
    The Know, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet imagined the relationship between the Bard and his spouse as an intimate tale of lust, compromise, joy, resentment, support, and sorrow.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Allegory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allegory. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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