allegory

/ˈælɪɡəɹi/

//ˈælɪɡəɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"allegory" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“allegory” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,327. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,327
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-allegory · allegory · English

allegory · rank #26,327 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,327
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alfa

Nearest frequency peer: alfa (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “allegory”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “allegory” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

allegory vs allegro
75% similar
allegory vs Allegra
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for allegory
PropertyValue
Headwordallegory
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈælɪɡəɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#26,327
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “allegory”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).allegorylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “alfa” (#26,326), “alp” (#26,328), “Alexandre” (#26,325). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allegory” is #26,327. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around allegory (IPA /ˈælɪɡəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,327 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for allegory, with forms such as "alegory", "alelgory", and "alleggory". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "allegro", "Allegra", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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). Allegorie i… The correct English form is allegory, spelled A-L-L-E-G-O-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    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.
  2. 2
    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.
  3. 3
    A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol.
  4. 4
    A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalization of that category.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how allegory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In theſe teſtimonies vvhich they alledge of the ſcripture there are certayne, vvhiche are vvell nere of no vvayghte, but there is none of them, but eyther it is darke vvith the myſte of allegorie: or els it dothe receyue dyuerſe and manifolde interpretations.
  2. As some of the finest compositions among the ancients are in allegory, I have endeavoured, in several of my papers, to revive that way of writing, and hope I have not been altogether unsuccessful in it; […]

Etymology

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). Allegorie is borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegorie and Middle French allegorie (“narrative with a hidden meaning; such a meaning or its interpretation”) (modern French allégorie), and directly from their etymon Latin allēgoria (“figurative or metaphorical language, allegory; parable”) (whence Late Latin allēgoria (“allegorical interpretation of the Bible”)), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λληγορῐ́ᾱ (ăllēgorĭ́ā, “figurative or metaphorical language”), probably from ἀλληγορος (allēgoros, “allegorical”) (though only attested in Byzantine Greek) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀλληγορος (Allēgoros) is derived from ᾰ̓́λλος (ắllos, “another; different”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“beyond; other”)) + ἠγόρ- (ēgór-, the imperfect stem of ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in the assembly; to say, speak”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain inflections of adjectives); and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) from ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́, “assembly; assembly place; market place; speech”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”)) + -εύω (-eúō, suffix forming verbs). The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

alegoría(Español)allégorie(Français)Allegorie(Deutsch)alegoria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alegory
  • alelgory
  • alleggory
  • allegorry
  • allegoryy
  • allegoyr
  • allegroy
  • alleogry
  • allgeory
  • lalegory

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allegory - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

alegory1alelgory2alleggory1allegorry1allegoryy1allegoyr2allegroy2alleogry2
Edit distance from "allegory"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "allegory"?
"allegory" is spelled A-L-L-E-G-O-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈælɪɡəɹi/.
What does "allegory" mean?
As a noun, "allegory" means: 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.
What words are commonly confused with "allegory"?
"allegory" is commonly confused with "allegro", "Allegra". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allegory"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allegory" is /ˈælɪɡəɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "allegory"?
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). A... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "allegory", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

airliner#26,323venomous#26,300Catalina#26,364tiresome#26,283

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

averted10 variantsabstain10 variantsBateman10 variantsWoodley10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list