hyperbole

hy·per·bo·le

noun \hī-ˈpər-bə-(ˌ)lē\

Definition of HYPERBOLE

: extravagant exaggeration (as “mile-high ice-cream cones”)

— hy·per·bo·list \-list\ noun

Examples of HYPERBOLE

1. <“enough food to feed a whole army” is a common example of hyperbole>
2. Four decades later we're all blabbermouths, adrift on a sea of hyperbole, shouting to be heard. —Steve Rushin, Sports Illustrated, 1 Apr. 2002
3. … balanced on the razor edge of anachronism, creating a rich stew of accepted and invented history, anecdote, myth and hyperbole. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, New York Times Book Review, 18 May 1997
4. Even if we discount the hyperbole evident in such accounts, they were far from inventions. —Lawrence W. Levine, The Unpredictable Past, 1993

Origin of HYPERBOLE

Latin, from Greek hyperbolē excess, hyperbole, hyperbola, from hyperballein to exceed, from hyper- + ballein to throw — more at devil

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to HYPERBOLE

Synonyms: caricature, coloring, elaboration, embellishment, embroidering, embroidery, exaggeration, magnification, overstatement, padding, stretching

Antonyms: meiosis, understatement

Related Words: amplification, enhancement; fabrication, misrepresentation; fudging, hedging; hype, puffery; superlative

Near Antonyms: belittlement, disparagement, minimizing, poor-mouthing

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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with HYPERBOLE

nonverbally