v. [a. Fr. allégorise-r; ad. L. allēgorīzāre, f. Gr. ἀλληγορία (see ALLEGORY), an analogous form to prophētīzāre, evangelīzāre, etc., f. assumed Gr. *ἀλληγορίζειν: see -IZE.]
1. trans. To make or treat (a thing) as allegorical; to turn it into, or explain it as, an allegory.
1596. Harington, Metam. Ajax, 6. I will not spend time to allegorize this story.
1678. Cudworth, Intell. Syst., 316. Plutarch and Synesius Allegorized those Egyptian Fables of Isis and Osiris, the one to a Philosophical, the other to a Political sence.
1724. A. Collins, Gr. Chr. Relig., 81. The Jews began to allegorize their sacred books.
1882. Farrar, Early Chr., I. 104. His attempt to allegorise the distinction between clean and unclean animals.
2. intr. a. To give allegoric explanations, to expound allegorically. b. To construct, or utter, allegories.
1581. Fulke, Agst. Allen, 223 (T.). After his manner he allegorizeth upon the sacrifices of the law.
1603. Holland, Plutarch’s Mor., 1300. The Greeks allegorize that Saturne is time, Juno the aire.
1782. Priestley, Corr. Chr., I. I. 24. One method of allegorizing … took its rise in the East.
1875. Masson, Wordsw., Shelley, etc., 239. Some writers are not moved to allegorize so easily as others.
3. To allegorize (a person) out of (anything): to take away from by the use of allegory. To allegorize (a thing) away: to get rid of by means of allegory. ? Obs.
1667. E. Chamberlayne, State Gt. Brit., I. III. i. (1743), 150. Charged with allegorising away the whole History of the Crucifixion.
1678. Cudworth, Intell. Syst., 795. Our High-flown Enthusiasts … quite Allegorize away … the Outward Resurrection of the Body.
1726. Penn, Tracts, Wks. I. 583. To Allegorize Christ out of His Divinity.
