exaggerate

verb ex·ag·ger·ate \ ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrāt \

Updated on: 13 May 2018

Definition of exaggerate

exaggerated; exaggerating

transitive verb

1 : to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth : overstate

a friend exaggerates a man's virtues
—Joseph Addison

2 : to enlarge or increase especially beyond the normal : overemphasize

intransitive verb

: to make an overstatement

—

exaggeratedly

adverb

—

exaggeratedness

noun

—

exaggeration

play \ig-ˌza-jə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

—

exaggerative

play \ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrā-tiv, -ˈzaj-rə-tiv, -ˈza-jə-rə-tiv\ adjective

—

exaggerator

play \ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrā-tər\ noun

—

exaggeratory

play \ig-ˈzaj-rə-ˌtȯr-ē, -ˈza-jə-\ adjective

See exaggerate defined for English-language learners

See exaggerate defined for kids

Examples of exaggerate in a Sentence

The book exaggerates the difficulties he faced in starting his career.
It's impossible to exaggerate the importance of this discovery.
He tends to exaggerate when talking about his accomplishments.
He exaggerated his movements so we could see them more clearly.

Recent Examples of exaggerate from the Web

But Paul Reiter, a medical entomologist at the Pasteur Institute, has argued that some environmentalists exaggerate the disease threats posed by climate change.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Tick and mosquito infections are spreading rapidly, CDC finds," 1 May 2018
That, along with a full load of crab pots on its back deck, would have exaggerated the boat’s side-to-side roll.

— Outside Online, "In Search of the Vanished Destination," 17 Apr. 2018
But the vote outcome is not a foregone conclusion, and the Labour leader’s urging of caution resonates with Britons wary of military intervention since intelligence was exaggerated in the run up to the Iraq War.

— Bloomberg.com, "May Has Trump, Brexit, Spy Tension to Consider on Syria Response," 11 Apr. 2018
Outsiders and former employees say the practice of putting violent and nonviolent groups on the same list allows Dees and his cohorts to exaggerate the number, power and threat of hate groups.

— sven berg, idahostatesman, "Hate watchdog SPLC flags small Northwest churches — and rakes in the cash | Idaho Statesman," 22 Apr. 2018
However, the connection of hemp as a crop and marijuana seems to be exaggerated.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Back When We Thought Hemp Would Be a Billion-Dollar Crop," 20 Apr. 2018
But exaggerating these conflicts seems very unwise.

— heather souvaine horn, The New Republic, "The Problem With “Cold War” Comparisons," 17 Apr. 2018
The demonstrations were carried live on state TV, which urged people not to believe media reports that exaggerated the results of the airstrikes.

— helene cooper and ben hubbard, BostonGlobe.com, "Pentagon says Syria strikes hit heart of chemical weapons program," 15 Apr. 2018
Drop him in the middle of the ocean without a life preserver, and Harden will find a way to exaggerate contact and get to the line.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "The Year of James Harden Is All About the NBA Playoffs," 6 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exaggerate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of exaggerate

Latin exaggeratus, past participle of exaggerare, literally, to heap up, from ex- + agger heap, from aggerere to carry toward, from ad- + gerere to carry

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1613

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year