exaggerated

[ig-zaj-uh-rey-tid]

adjective

1. unduly or unrealistically magnified.

   to have an exaggerated opinion of oneself.

2. abnormally increased or enlarged.

Other Word Forms

• exaggeratedly adverb
• nonexaggerated adjective
• nonexaggeratedly adverb
• self-exaggerated adjective
• unexaggerated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exaggerated¹

First recorded in 1545–55; exaggerate + -ed ²

Example Sentences

But in these works, trippy colors, exaggerated and expressionistic figures and unconventional arrangements seem to be enough to qualify them as surreal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Reports of an impending US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Read more on BBC

The irony, duly noted by dramatists, is that the technological monsters we’re creating bear many of our own features — in exaggerated if uncannily familiar form.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The firm said in a statement it would never “encourage or tolerate anyone lying about being abused” and has been conducting additional screening to remove “false or exaggerated claims” from its caseload.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Far from the subtlety required before a camera, her powerful voice and exaggerated gestures fill the space -- and draw peals of laughter.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• abstract 
• distorted 
• excessive 
• extravagant 
• fabricated 
• false 
• farfetched www.thesaurus.com
• hyperbolic 
• inflated 
• magnified www.thesaurus.com
• melodramatic 
• overblown 
• overwrought 
• preposterous 
• pretentious 
• stylized www.thesaurus.com
• unrealistic