exaggeration
Americannoun
-
exaggerations
plural
-
the act of exaggerating or overstating.
-
an instance of exaggerating; an overstatement.
His statement concerning the size of his income is a gross exaggeration.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exaggeration
1555–65; < Latin exaggerātiōn- (stem of exaggerātiō ), equivalent to exaggerāt ( us ) ( see exaggerate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you're prone to exaggeration, it means you habitually overstate the truth. If you have a dog and a hamster, it would be an exaggeration to describe yourself as "practically Doctor Dolittle," living in a house full of animals. When you make something showier, or more noticeable than normal, that's also called exaggeration. The exaggeration of your hand movements might be necessary on stage so the audience can see them, but in real life it just looks silly. Exaggeration comes from the Latin word exaggerare, which means to magnify or to heap or pile on.
Vocabulary lists containing exaggeration
AP English Lit exam terms
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Theodore Roosevelt on "The Man with the Muck Rake" (1906)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mr. Posner’s article was titled “The Culture of Plagiarism,” but that was an exaggeration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The available data says the organizational response is at best a huge exaggeration of the rank and file’s view.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
Throughout the trial, Davis' defence team tried to persuade jurors that his comments were fiction - bravado and exaggeration intended to sell books and make money.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
It can’t be an exaggeration to say that tens of millions are grieving her death.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
To say that Bobby’s broadcast was one of the most hateful by an American in the history of radio would not be an exaggeration.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
It was one of several exaggerations throughout the wide-ranging interview.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
Owens’ story is backed by innuendo, exaggerations, outright falsehoods, and, in several instances, messages delivered through Owens’ own dreams.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
More important, we should be wary of the vast chasm between the frenzied exaggerations of the media that attend this case and its actual significance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
“Short n’ Sweet” is brimming with hooks and jokes and vocal exaggerations; this show, the first of three sold-out dates in Los Angeles to wrap Carpenter’s North American tour, left virtually no surface un-bedazzled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2024
To be sure, some researchers have vigorously attacked the new findings as wild exaggerations.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
