What does theme mean?

theme means "the subject matter of a conversation or discussion". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in theme?

theme has 1 syllable: theme. In IPA it is /ˈθim/.

What is another word for theme?

Close synonyms include subject, topic, motif, melodic theme, musical theme. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is theme a common word?

theme is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

theme — meaning, pronunciation and 6 definitions

noun

5 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
“he didn't want to discuss that subject”
“it was a very sensitive topic”
“his letters were always on the theme of love”
Synonymssubject topic
Broadermessage
Narrowerbone of contention precedent question keynote
2.
a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
“it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme”
Synonymsmotif
Broaderidea
Narrowertopos
3.
(music) melodic subject of a musical composition
“the theme is announced in the first measures”
“the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it”
Synonymsmelodic theme musical theme idea
Broadertune
Narrowermotif statement variation
music
4.
an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
“he got an A on his composition”
Synonymscomposition paper report
Broaderessay
Narrowerterm paper
5.
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
“thematic vowels are part of the stem”
Synonymsroot root word base stem radical
Broaderform
linguistics

verb

1 senseAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
provide with a particular theme or motive
“the restaurant often themes its menus”
Broadersupply

Other forms of theme

plural: themes·
past tense: themed·
present participle: theming·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about theme

What does theme mean?: theme means "the subject matter of a conversation or discussion". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in theme?: theme has 1 syllable: theme. In IPA it is /ˈθim/.
What is another word for theme?: Close synonyms include subject, topic, motif, melodic theme, musical theme. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is theme a common word?: theme is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for theme come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

noun

5 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
“he didn't want to discuss that subject”
“it was a very sensitive topic”
“his letters were always on the theme of love”
Synonymssubject topic
Broadermessage
Narrowerbone of contention precedent question keynote
2.
a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
“it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme”
Synonymsmotif
Broaderidea
Narrowertopos
3.
(music) melodic subject of a musical composition
“the theme is announced in the first measures”
“the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it”
Synonymsmelodic theme musical theme idea
Broadertune
Narrowermotif statement variation
music
4.
an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
“he got an A on his composition”
Synonymscomposition paper report
Broaderessay
Narrowerterm paper
5.
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
“thematic vowels are part of the stem”
Synonymsroot root word base stem radical
Broaderform
linguistics

verb

1 senseAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
provide with a particular theme or motive
“the restaurant often themes its menus”
Broadersupply

Other forms of theme

plural: themes·
past tense: themed·
present participle: theming·

Questions about theme

What does theme mean?: theme means "the subject matter of a conversation or discussion". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in theme?: theme has 1 syllable: theme. In IPA it is /ˈθim/.
What is another word for theme?: Close synonyms include subject, topic, motif, melodic theme, musical theme. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is theme a common word?: theme is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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Theme

theme

noun

verb

Other forms of theme

Questions about theme

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

Tool directories

Search

Jump to

Explore AltFTool

Help

Theme

theme

noun

verb

Other forms of theme

Questions about theme