as in parables
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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Recent Examples of allegories
After their collaboration on The Lobster, director Yorgos Lanthimos cast Farrell in yet another of his symbolic, surreal allegories.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Over the past 20 years of Black List darlings and Edgar Wright rip-offs, the American film industry has established a new archetype of cinema filled with quippy antiheroes, gory allegories for domestic strife, and character actors rattling off reference humor.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
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
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Over the past 20 years of Black List darlings and Edgar Wright rip-offs, the American film industry has established a new archetype of cinema filled with quippy antiheroes, gory allegories for domestic strife, and character actors rattling off reference humor.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allegories
Noun
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Discerning viewers flock to the Greek filmmaker’s parables about family dynamics and power struggles to marinate in his deadpan humor, his aloof and somewhat anthropological look at human behavior, and the sight of Emma Stone inevitably doing something odd.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
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These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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According to historical fables, yes.—
Julie Tremaine,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There was a distinct set of tales dealing with demons who collected idle chatter in churches, and, over time, these stories were folded into the expanding legend of Tutivillus.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
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As is often the case with bifurcated tales unfolding between two distinct planes of existence, the characters in the Realm of the Spooks, also have their matching counterparts in Frankelda’s reality.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Allegories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allegories. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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