exaggerate

verb ex·ag·ger·ate \ ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrāt \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Examples: exaggerate in a Sentence

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

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exaggeratedly

adverb

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exaggeratedness

noun

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exaggeration

play \ig-ˌza-jə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

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exaggerative

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

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exaggerator

play \ig-ˈza-jə-ˌrā-tər\ noun

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exaggeratory

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

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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

The administration’s numbers may be particularly exaggerated for Medicaid.

— New York Times, "Declaring War on Poverty ‘Largely Over,’ White House Urges Work Requirements for Aid," 12 July 2018
Republicans, in a bid to rally their more dispirited voters, are exaggerating the extent to which this is Democratic policy.

— The Economist, "The case against impeachment," 12 July 2018
And the current administration exaggerates the crisis.

— david a. martin, Vox, "How to fix the crisis caused by Central American asylum seekers — humanely," 2 July 2018
Lastly, extremely prominent mounts reveal dominant characteristics that may be exaggerated or overemphasized.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "A Beginner's Guide to Reading Palms," 4 June 2018
The statement, which exaggerated the overall death toll as militant claims often do, did not say journalists were specifically targeted.

— new york times, cleveland.com, "Trump should win Nobel Peace Prize, says South Korea president," 30 Apr. 2018
The tweet from Senate Democrats is clearly meant to be exaggerated.

— salvador rizzo, Washington Post, "Will the FCC’s net neutrality repeal grind the Internet to a halt?," 5 Mar. 2018
There's good reason to believe China is exaggerating what its gun can do.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "China Claims to Have a Laser Assault Rifle That Can Set Clothes on Fire," 3 July 2018
Hassell said Yelp was exaggerating the stakes of her legal effort.

— NBC News, "Yelp can't be forced to remove negative posts, California Supreme Court rules," 2 July 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

borrowed from Latin exaggerātus, past participle of exaggerāre "to heap up, construct by piling up, increase in significance," from ex- ¹ex- + aggerāre "to heap up over, form into a heap," verbal derivative of agger "rubble, earthwork, rampart, dam," noun derivative of aggerere "to bring, carry (to or up), push close up (against)," from ag- ag- + gerere "to carry, bring" — more at ¹jest

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First Known Use: 1613

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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