as in caricatures
the representation of something in terms that go beyond the facts
their exaggeration was such that a rainstorm became a hurricane
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Recent Examples of exaggerations
Williams, of course, worked at NBC for nearly three decades, including an 11-year run at NBC Nightly News that ended 2015 after exaggerations and falsehoods were found in some of his reporting, including reports from Iraq, and from New Orleans after it had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
—
Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
Together, these individuals bedevil lawmakers with their flag-waving and their exaggerations about the alien problem.
—Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Free of the trappings and exaggerations of the 1980s, fashion had turned to celebrating clothes in their simplest, purest form, with invisible seams and clean lines, devoid of embellishments and in a strictly neutral, pattern-free palette.
—Valentina Bottoni, Vanity Fair, 13 Mar. 2026
But Chan also claimed to have ties to Asian gangs, at one point asked Kim to help him get rid of a body and spoke about killing other students, which Chan came to see as lies or exaggerations.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
Who knew what other wild exaggerations Wise had chosen to believe?
—Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2026
While some of his bold claims have come true, others have gone down as vast exaggerations or outright lies.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 20 Jan. 2026
Those were among multiple other apparent mistruths and exaggerations about his background and qualifications.
—William Morris, Des Moines Register, 15 Jan. 2026
Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
Together, these individuals bedevil lawmakers with their flag-waving and their exaggerations about the alien problem.
—Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Free of the trappings and exaggerations of the 1980s, fashion had turned to celebrating clothes in their simplest, purest form, with invisible seams and clean lines, devoid of embellishments and in a strictly neutral, pattern-free palette.
—Valentina Bottoni, Vanity Fair, 13 Mar. 2026
But Chan also claimed to have ties to Asian gangs, at one point asked Kim to help him get rid of a body and spoke about killing other students, which Chan came to see as lies or exaggerations.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
Who knew what other wild exaggerations Wise had chosen to believe?
—Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2026
While some of his bold claims have come true, others have gone down as vast exaggerations or outright lies.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 20 Jan. 2026
Those were among multiple other apparent mistruths and exaggerations about his background and qualifications.
—William Morris, Des Moines Register, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exaggerations
Noun
-
The other women in the friends’ lives — primarily their mothers — don’t fare much better and are reduced to near-caricatures.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
-
And in mainstream television, Latinos are very often caricatures.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In time, reticules became more ornate and decorative, fashioned in delicate silks and velvets with intricate embroideries.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Vogue points to bold and bright sneakers for spring, plus those with details like sequins and floral embroideries, among other trends.—
Claire Peltier,
ABC News,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
City officials highlighted upgrades to the arena, infrastructure enhancements and a large union workforce.—
Dan Snyder,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Other general fund reductions include eliminating more than $945,000 in county contracts, about $850,000 in extra help budgets, roughly $660,000 in salary allocations, about $635,000 in revenue enhancements and about $575,000 in service and supply costs.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exaggerations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exaggerations. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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