Theme — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the subject matter of a conversation or discussion

a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/θˈiːm/

🇬🇧British English

/θˈiːm/

🇮🇳Indian English

/θˈiːm/

1 syllable Say it as /θˈiːm/.

Examples

he didn't want to discuss that subject
it was a very sensitive topic
his letters were always on the theme of love

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

base idea root word subject paper root melodic theme musical theme motif topic report composition stem radical

Parts of Speech

noun	the subject matter of a conversation or discussion “he didn't want to discuss that subject”
noun	a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work “it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme”
noun	(music) melodic subject of a musical composition “the theme is announced in the first measures”
noun	an essay (especially one written as an assignment) “he got an A on his composition”
noun	(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed “thematic vowels are part of the stem”
verb	provide with a particular theme or motive “the restaurant often themes its menus”

Word Forms

topical	adjective	of or relating to or arranged by topics
thematic	adjective	relating to or constituting a topic of discourse
stem	verb	remove the stem from

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Thema

der Gegenstand eines Gesprächs oder einer Diskussion

🇫🇷French

thème

le sujet d'une conversation ou d'une discussion

🇪🇸Spanish

tema

el tema de una conversación o discusión

🇮🇹Italian

tema

l'oggetto di una conversazione o di una discussione

🇳🇱Dutch

thema

het onderwerp van een gesprek of discussie

🇵🇹Portuguese

tema

o assunto de uma conversa ou discussão

🇷🇺Russian

тема

предмет разговора или обсуждения

India

🇮🇳Hindi

विषय

बातचीत या चर्चा का विषय

🇧🇩Bengali

থিম

একটি কথোপকথন বা আলোচনার বিষয়বস্তু

🇮🇳Tamil

தீம்

ஒரு உரையாடல் அல்லது விவாதத்தின் பொருள்

🇮🇳Telugu

థీమ్

సంభాషణ లేదా చర్చ యొక్క విషయం

🇮🇳Marathi

थीम

संभाषण किंवा चर्चेचा विषय

🇮🇳Gujarati

થીમ

વાતચીત અથવા ચર્ચાનો વિષય

🇮🇳Kannada

ಥೀಮ್

ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ಅಥವಾ ಚರ್ಚೆಯ ವಿಷಯ

🇮🇳Malayalam

തീം

ഒരു സംഭാഷണത്തിൻ്റെയോ ചർച്ചയുടെയോ വിഷയം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਥੀਮ

ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਜਾਂ ਚਰਚਾ ਦਾ ਵਿਸ਼ਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

تھیم

گفتگو یا بحث کا موضوع

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

主题

谈话或讨论的主题

🇯🇵Japanese

テーマ

会話やディスカッションの主題

🇰🇷Korean

주제

대화나 토론의 주제

🇻🇳Vietnamese

chủ đề

chủ đề của một cuộc trò chuyện hoặc thảo luận

🇹🇭Thai

ธีม

เรื่องของการสนทนาหรือการอภิปราย

🇮🇩Indonesian

tema

pokok pembicaraan atau diskusi

🇵🇭Filipino

tema

paksa ng usapan o talakayan

🇲🇾Malay

tema

perkara perbualan atau perbincangan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سمة

موضوع المحادثة أو المناقشة

🇮🇷Persian

موضوع

موضوع یک گفتگو یا بحث

🇹🇷Turkish

tema

bir konuşmanın veya tartışmanın konusu

🇮🇱Hebrew

נוֹשֵׂא

הנושא של שיחה או דיון

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'theme'?

The primary meaning of 'theme' is 'the subject matter of a conversation or discussion'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'theme' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'theme' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'theme' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'theme' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'theme' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'theme' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'theme' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'theme' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'theme' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'theme' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted