theme
a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic: The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.
a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.
a short, informal essay, especially a school composition.
Music.
a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.
a short melodic subject from which variations are developed.
Grammar. the element common to all or most of the forms of an inflectional paradigm, often consisting of a root with certain formative elements or modifications.: Compare stem1 (def. 16).
Linguistics. topic (def. 4).
Also thema. an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.
having a unifying theme: a theme restaurant decorated like a spaceship.
to provide with a theme.
Origin of theme
1synonym study For theme
Other words for theme
Other words from theme
- themeless, adjective
- subtheme, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use theme in a sentence
One song interweaves adult themes into nursery rhyme cadence.
The themes are treated more specifically in later episodes as budgets and allegories wore thin.
How a War-Weary Vet Created ‘The Twilight Zone’ | Rich Goldstein | November 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe show is arranged by themes, but this mostly serves as a useful grouping exercise.
The existence of the images—which resemble the styles and themes found in European cave art—has been known for some time.
After eleven years directing different themes of “Nightmare,” Harlacher has mastered the art of shock and panic.
New York’s Scariest Night Out: The Ghosts, Rats, and Lunatics of ‘Nightmare New York’ | Justin Jones | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The highest themes which can elevate or engross the mind of man claimed her profound and delighted reveries.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. AbbottThe grain fields of Ethiopia and Egypt were the themes of the poet, and their garners, the subject of the historian.
Proud as she was of her husband, his aims, and his position in the community, his friends and their themes frankly bored her.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonBy way of episodes the characteristic themes of Regan and Goneril, and then—a second subject—Cordelia, calm and tender.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyThe one smoked, the other took snuff; this different way of taking tobacco was one of the endless themes between the two.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
British Dictionary definitions for theme
/ (θiːm) /
an idea or topic expanded in a discourse, discussion, etc
(in literature, music, art, etc) a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work
music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, often used as the basis of the musical material in a composition
a short essay, esp one set as an exercise for a student
linguistics the first major constituent of a sentence, usually but not necessarily the subject. In the sentence history I do like, "history" is the theme of the sentence, even though it is the object of the verb
grammar another word for root 1 (def. 9), stem 1 (def. 9)
(in the Byzantine Empire) a territorial unit consisting of several provinces under a military commander
(modifier) planned or designed round one unifying subject, image, etc: a theme holiday
(tr) to design, decorate, arrange, etc, in accordance with a theme
Origin of theme
1Derived forms of theme
- themeless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for theme
A central idea in a piece of writing or other work of art: “The theme of desperation is found throughout his novels.” Also a short composition assigned to a student as a writing exercise.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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