English pronunciation · Words Starting with A
Allegory Pronunciation
Allegory is pronounced A-luh-gaw-ree, IPA /ˈæləˌgɔri/.
A-luh-gaw-ree
US /ˈæləˌgɔri/ · UK /ˈælɪgəˌri/
Syllables: A · luh · gaw · ree (4 syllables, stress on syllable 1)
noun: A story whose characters and events stand for something else, usually a moral or political idea.
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Allegory in a Sentence
- Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution.
- The painting works as an allegory of justice.
- He told the whole thing as an allegory rather than a complaint.
Common Mispronunciations of Allegory
Not uh-LE-guh-ree
Volume stays on the opening A, which is a flat vowel and not a reduced one. The related allegorical does move the peak to the middle.
Not A-luh-jaw-ree
That g stays hard, as in gone, because an o follows it. A soft j would need an e or an i in its place.
Tip: American dictionaries give the third beat a full gaw, while British ones reduce it: A-li-guh-ree in four light beats.
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