leitmotif

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The book is crowded with characters, but “Sunshine Charlie” Mitchell, the head of National City Bank of New York, provides a sort of leitmotif.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Its leitmotif is push and pull: unsettling, bruising, often brutal, yet ultimately life-affirming.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025

In the “Barbie” film, “What Was I Made For?” plays a key role — an instrumental version of the song pops up like a leitmotif, soundtracking introspective, existential moments for its protagonist.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2024

But the truest leitmotif of my adventure was cheese.

From Salon • Oct. 9, 2023

And just as the conflicted relationship among Athens and Sparta was a leitmotif of Greek life, so Maya society resounded for centuries with the echoes of the struggle between Mutal and Kaan.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann