theme

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1. Primary topic, subject, or idea around which an advertising campaign, book, motion picture, television show, recording, or the like is organized. In an advertising campaign, the theme is most likely to be a product feature or a sales point that will have maximum impression on the intended prospective consumers.

2. Recurring melody that characterizes a personality, television show, movie, radio broadcast, or theatrical presentation. See also signature.

noun

1. What a speech, piece of writing, or artistic work is about: argument, matter, point, subject, subject matter, text, topic. See meaning.
2. A relatively brief discourse written especially as an exercise: composition, essay, paper. See words.
3. The main part of a word to which affixes are attached: base¹, root¹, stem. See words.

The musical material on which part or all of a work is based; usually the term implies a recognizable melody. ‘Theme’ and ‘subject’ are sometimes used interchangeably but ‘theme’ implies a certain completeness that distinguishes it from the shorter Motif. A theme may be used to identify a work and may be the melody on which a set of variations is based.

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theme, a salient abstract idea that emerges from a literary work's treatment of its subject‐matter; or a topic recurring in a number of literary works. While the subject of a work is described concretely in terms of its action (e.g. ‘the adventures of a newcomer in the big city’), its theme or themes will be described in more abstract terms (e.g. love, war, revenge, betrayal, fate, etc.). The theme of a work may be announced explicitly, but more often it emerges indirectly through the recurrence of motifs.

Adjective: thematic.

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.

1. A phrase that serves as the subject, or melody for a given work, as in a fugue, or sonata. 2. A conceptual idea that motivates a given work.

The central idea, topic, or didactic quality of a work.

IN BRIEF: n. - A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; The subject matter of a conversation or discussion.

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. — Herman Melville

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For a list of words related to theme, see:

• Curricula, Studies, Learning, and Tests - theme: written assignment, essay
• Devices, Techniques, and Elements - theme: unifying subject or topic of composition
• Harmony, Melody, and Structure - theme: complete musical idea; basis of musical variations
• Linguistics and Writing Systems - theme: first major element in a sentence, about which the rest of the sentence communicates information; topic

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See words rhyming with "theme."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Theme.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - tema, emne, stil, opgave
v. tr. - tematisere

idioms:

• theme park    forlystelsespark
• theme song    temasang, kendingsmelodi

Nederlands (Dutch)
onderwerp, thema, terugkerend deuntje in muziek

Français (French)
n. - thème, (Mus) thème, (Radio, TV) indicatif, (Ling) thème, (US) rédaction
adj. - à thème, à thème commun
v. tr. - donner un thème à, thématiser, décorer sur le thème de

idioms:

• theme park    parc de loisirs à thème
• theme song    (Cin) musique, (Radio, TV) indicatif, (fig) rengaine

Deutsch (German)
n. - Thema, Gegenstand, Leitmotiv, Aufsatz, Wortstamm
v. - einem Leitmotiv folgend anlegen, ein Thema geben
adj. - Titel-, einem Leitmotiv folgend

idioms:

• theme park    einem Thema folgend angelegter Freizeitpark
• theme song    Titelmelodie

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - θέμα (πίνακα κ.λπ.), υπόθεση, (μουσ.) θέμα, μοτίβο, μουσική υπόκρουση έργου, κεντρική ιδέα
v. - δίνω συγκεκριμένο θέμα

idioms:

• theme park    υπαίθριος χώρος αναψυχής οργανωμένος πάνω σε συγκεκριμένο θέμα
• theme song    μουσικό θέμα, κομμάτι τίτλων (ταινίας, εκπομπής κλπ.)

Italiano (Italian)
tema, tematizzare

idioms:

• theme park    parco tematico
• theme song    canzone a ritornello

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tema (m), assunto (m), motivo musical (m), matéria (f), característica (f)

idioms:

• theme park    parque de diversões
• theme song    canção principal de um filme ou peça de teatro

Русский (Russian)
тема, предмет (чего-л.), основная мысль, (муз.) тема

idioms:

• theme park    тематический парк - парк отдыха с оборудованием на тему
• theme song    позывные, лейтмотив

Español (Spanish)
n. - composición, ensayo, tema, asunto, materia, motivo
v. tr. - desarrollar un tema
adj. - temático

idioms:

• theme park    parque temático
• theme song    canción característica o principal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tema, ämne, grundtanke, uppsats, stil (skol.), ledmotiv (mus.), refräng, stam (språkvet.)
v. - följa ett tema, ge ett ämne

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
主题, 题目, 话题, 成为主题

idioms:

• theme park    主题乐园
• theme song    主题歌, 信号曲, 老套

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 主題, 題目, 話題
v. tr. - 成為主題

idioms:

• theme park    主題樂園
• theme song    主題歌, 信號曲, 老套

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주제 , 작문, 어간
v. tr. - 주제를 정하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 主題, テーマ, 話題, 作文, 主旋律, 小論文

idioms:

• theme park    テーマ遊園地
• theme song    主題歌, テーマソング

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) موضوع الكلام او الكتابه, جذر الكلمه (فعل) يكتب الأنشاء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נושא, לחן חוזר, חיבור על נושא מסוים בבתי-ספר אמריקאיים, שורש של שם-עצם או פועל אליו מוצמדות ההטיות‬
v. tr. - ‮עוצב סביב נושא מסוים, היה בעל נושא מסוים‬

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