allegory (n.)

  1. a short moral story (often with animal characters)

    [ Syn: fable , parable , apologue ]

  2. a visible symbol representing an abstract idea

    [ Syn: emblem ]

  3. an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
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