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 of exaggeration

• caricature
• hyperbole
• stretching
• enhancement
• overstatement
• coloring

Examples of exaggeration in a Sentence

their exaggeration was such that a rainstorm became a hurricane

Recent Examples on the Web

In some cases, this exaggeration can lead salvageable relationships to divorce. —Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025

Actual storms will attract viewership without exaggeration. —Dan Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2025

This isn't hyperbole or partisan exaggeration. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025

But that’s only fair, since wild exaggerations are exactly what music videos are all about. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 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