allegory
al·le·gory/ˈæləˌɡɔɹi/noun
allegory is spelled A-L-L-E-G-O-R-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (al·le·gory). It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of allegory is allegories.
How many letters and syllables are in allegory?
| Letters | 8: A-L-L-E-G-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: al·le·gory |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is allegory?
Allegory appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce allegory?
- UK /ˈælɪɡəɹi/
- UK /ˈælɪɡɹi/
- US /ˈæləˌɡɔɹi/
Allegory has 3 syllables, split al·le·gory in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-allegory.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-allegory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of allegory
- allegories plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- allegorying participle, present
- allegoried participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does allegory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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
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
A character or thing which symbolically represents someone or something else; an emblem, a symbol.
- 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.
verb
- 1
archaicTo interpret (a picture, story, or other form of communication) to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
- 2
archaicTo create an allegory (noun sense 2.1) from (a character, an event or situation, etc.); also, to use one or more symbols to depict (a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences).
- 3
archaicFollowed by away: to treat (something) as allegorical or symbolic rather than as truth.
- 4
archaicTo interpret an allegory.
- 5
archaicTo create or use allegory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Allegory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | allégorie |
| German | Allegorie, Sinnbild |
| Portuguese | alegoria , parábola |
| Spanish | alegoría |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does allegory come from?
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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).