Theme Meaning
/θiːm/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
nounA recurring idea; a motif., A concept with multiple instantiations.
Sentence Examples
The principal theme of the book is the American Revolution.
This theme should be treated in more detail.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The main ____ of the entire book is the power of kindness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The main ____ of the conference was the role of technology in improving the quality of national education today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). Doublet of thema.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Had not you once a beautiful daughter, named Mary?" said the stranger.
"It is a heartrending question, man," said Andrew; "but certes, I had once a beloved daughter named Mary."
"What became of her?" asked the stranger.
Andrew shook his head, turned round, and began to move away; it was a theme that his heart could not brook."
— 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet:
"Father Dolan came in today and pandied me because I was not writing my theme."
— 1917, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man:
"[…] his themes and exercises were in constant demand for what we called cogging and American students rather grandly called plagiarization."
— 1979, Tri-Quarterly, numbers 46-47, page 273:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The main ____ of the entire book is the power of kindness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The main ____ of the conference was the role of technology in improving the quality of national education today.