Meaning & use
allegorical
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableformalliterary
Using characters and events as symbols to express a deeper moral, political, or religious meaning.
Grammar: Comes before a noun, as in 'an allegorical poem'; the more common pattern is 'allegorical of something' when you name the hidden meaning.
Patterns
- allegorical of something
- an allegorical novel/story/film
- purely allegorical
The film is allegorical: the flooded city stands for a country losing its memory.
Critics read the novel as allegorical of the struggle between faith and reason.
Her later paintings became more allegorical and less directly political.
adjectivecomparableformal
Full of hidden symbolic meaning rather than literal description.
Grammar: Often used with 'reading' or 'interpretation' to describe how a text is understood.
Patterns
- an allegorical reading of something
- allegorical interpretation
Some scholars offer an allegorical reading of the poem, seeing every storm as a trial of the soul.
The play invites an allegorical interpretation that younger audiences often miss.
Word forms
| comparative | more allegorical |
|---|---|
| superlative | most allegorical |
Common combinations
- an allegorical tale
- The teacher told an allegorical tale about a bird afraid to leave its cage.
- allegorical painting
- The museum hung the allegorical painting beside a plain portrait for contrast.
- allegorical meaning
- Students debated the allegorical meaning of the journey down the river.
- highly allegorical
- His early work is highly allegorical, while his last poems are simple and personal.
- read something as allegorical
- Many readers take the whole story as allegorical.
Synonyms and how they differ
- symbolic
- Broader and more everyday; symbolic can describe a single gesture or object, while allegorical usually describes a whole story or picture with a system of meanings.
- figurative
- Refers to language used non-literally, such as metaphors; allegorical is stronger and suggests a complete hidden story running underneath.
- metaphorical
- Describes one thing spoken of as another; allegorical is used for extended works where many details carry meaning.
Opposites
Word family
- allegory noun
- A story or picture with a hidden meaning.
- allegorically adverb
- In a way that uses symbols to express a deeper meaning.
- allegorize verb
- To explain or write something as an allegory.
Commonly confused: allegorical or allegoric? allegorical or allergic?
allegorical vs allegoric
A rarer variant with the same meaning; modern writing strongly prefers 'allegorical'.
allegorical vs allergic
Sounds similar but means reacting badly to something, as in 'allergic to nuts'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'allegorical' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Allegorical of something' correctly says the story carries a hidden meaning about the war. Option A confuses it with 'allergic', and options C and D use an adjective where an adverb or a different word is needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “allegorical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.