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
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.
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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
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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Throughout, in interviews with Costa, Malafaia justifies his political aspiration with Biblical parables.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Modern horror is at the forefront of political movements and are the fables of our time.—
American Booksellers Association,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
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Allusions to myths, fables, and riffs on common idioms abound, many of them evocative and quite funny.—
Lora Kelley,
New Yorker,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In Budapest, after the uprising against the Communist regime, Andor — raised by his mother with idealized tales of his dead father — has his world turned upside down when a brutish man appears, claiming to be his true father.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
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Ledford is a songwriter to watch, spinning urgent, gripping tales of life’s ups and downs in the midst of a wildly colorful and psychedelic musical universe.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Allegories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allegories. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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