exaggerated

adjective

ex·​ag·​ger·​at·​ed ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrā-təd How to pronounce exaggerated (audio)
1
: excessively or inappropriately heightened, inflated, or overstated
exaggerated fears
a wildly exaggerated story
As students go from one disconnected course to the next, they tend to form a highly exaggerated idea of the differences between teachers and subjects.Gerald Graff
2
: enlarged or increased beyond the normal : greater than normal
… many people have an unusual or exaggerated response to a drug, but they are not necessarily allergic to the drug.Paul D. Buisseret
exaggeratedly adverb
… my own view of the art of architecture—a view that many people (including many architects) would perhaps consider an exaggeratedly lofty one. Brendan Gill
Koenig's movements were brisk, exaggeratedly optimistic. Nick Paumgarten
exaggeratedness noun
… we often do not respond to exaggeration by simply pointing out its exaggeratedness Julie Kuhlken

Examples of exaggerated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Lustily sneering her dialogue in an exaggerated accent, Winslet throws her all into the character, but to what end? Brian Lowry, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 David plays an exaggerated version of himself as a cranky, semi-retired television writer and producer with a total disregard for social conventions. Kelly Martinez, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2024 Yet the demise of AI detectors is greatly exaggerated. IEEE Spectrum, 26 Feb. 2024 Chabria: To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of our death are greatly exaggerated — again. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024 News of their demise is greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain. Judy Bart Kancigor, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024 But in an election year, material advantage for Biden from this move appears to be grossly exaggerated. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Part of the reason was that companies were increasing software spending in anticipation of their own hiring plans, but demand was exaggerated unbeknownst to the industry because there was a widespread miscalculation of how fast teams would be scaling their tech effort. Ryan Hinkle, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2024 Guidelines or standards can and often are flaunted or exaggerated. Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exaggerated.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of exaggerate

First Known Use

circa 1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of exaggerated was circa 1632

Dictionary Entries Near exaggerated

Cite this Entry

“Exaggerated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exaggerated. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on exaggerated

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!