exaggeration

noun

ex·​ag·​ger·​a·​tion ig-ˌza-jə-ˈrā-shən 

plural exaggerations

: an act or instance of exaggerating something : overstatement of the truth

She told us what happened without exaggeration.

: a statement that exaggerates something

a report filled with exaggerations and outright lies

But it's no exaggeration to say that this car has been one of the major linchpins of the burgeoning Asian hot-rod phenomenon.

—Tony Swan

Scads of fibs, exaggerations and misleading statements have been swept up in the dragnet …

—James Poniewozik

Synonyms

• caricature
• coloring
• elaboration
• embellishment
• embroidering
• embroidery
• hyperbole
• magnification
• overstatement
• padding
• stretching

Examples of exaggeration in a Sentence

their exaggeration was such that a rainstorm became a hurricane

Recent Examples on the Web

Public media officials say those arguments are rooted in exaggerations and misperceptions about what the networks actually air. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 12 June 2025

To reduce such a momentous decision to one individual would be an exaggeration. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 June 2025

Calling this conflict an energy war isn’t an exaggeration. —Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

The unit's public accounting of savings is routinely riddled with exaggerations, double-counting and other inconsistencies. —Bobby Allyn, NPR, 20 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exaggeration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration