as in to exaggerate
disapproving
to describe or show something in a way that makes it seem more shocking than it really is
Journalists should report the news accurately without trying to sensationalize it.
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Recent Examples of sensationalize
Without social media, television or telephones of any kind, Willig illustrates how this trial became sensationalized and angry crowds swayed public opinion — the 19th-century version of canceling.
—
Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2025
Some conservative groups in South Africa have misrepresented facts about farm murders, sensationalizing them by fixating on exceptionally violent cases and promoting the idea that all farm murders are politically and racially motivated.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
Burnett’s early films have been credited for their honest rendering of Black working-class life in Los Angeles, a milieu rarely shown, or at best sensationalized, by Hollywood.
—Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
But the Labor Department itself responded to the report at the time that the claims were these same pseudo records, and that mischaracterizing them risked sensationalizing the aid program.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sensationalize
Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2025
Some conservative groups in South Africa have misrepresented facts about farm murders, sensationalizing them by fixating on exceptionally violent cases and promoting the idea that all farm murders are politically and racially motivated.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
Burnett’s early films have been credited for their honest rendering of Black working-class life in Los Angeles, a milieu rarely shown, or at best sensationalized, by Hollywood.
—Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
But the Labor Department itself responded to the report at the time that the claims were these same pseudo records, and that mischaracterizing them risked sensationalizing the aid program.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sensationalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sensationalize
exaggerate
Verb
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Second, the extent of the controversies has often been exaggerated: a handful of Trump supporters have stuck their heads above the parapet, the media have sniffed drama and written up stories about friction, and nothing has ultimately changed.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
27 June 2025
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Opponents of burnout argue that burnout researchers exaggerate that burnout is a condition of epidemic magnitude.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sensationalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sensationalize. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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