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
• 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

Despite the mess in her apartment, the man, like everyone else in her life, brushes off her fears as the exaggerations of an overactive imagination. —Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2025

Any kind of strong reaction after Week 1 is an exaggeration. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

That’s not an exaggeration, and it’s baked into the original Elvis experience. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025

The company clarified that there was no widespread hack, and the rumors likely stemmed from a mix of unrelated security alerts and social media exaggeration. —Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 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