exaggerate
[ ig-zaj-uh-reyt ]
/ ɪgˈzædʒ əˌreɪt /
verb (used with object), ex·ag·ger·at·ed, ex·ag·ger·at·ing.
to magnify beyond the limits of truth; overstate; represent disproportionately: to exaggerate the difficulties of a situation.
to increase or enlarge abnormally: Those shoes exaggerate the size of my feet.
verb (used without object), ex·ag·ger·at·ed, ex·ag·ger·at·ing.
to employ exaggeration, as in speech or writing: a person who is always exaggerating.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
overdo, magnify, fabricate, distort, emphasize, inflate, misrepresent, heighten, falsify, amplify, overdraw, overestimate, overemphasize, pyramid, scam, color, corrupt, fudge, lie, caricature
Nearby words
- exaction,
- exactitude,
- exactly,
- exactness,
- exacum,
- exaggerated,
- exaggeration,
- exaggerative,
- exahertz,
- exalt
Origin of exaggerate
SYNONYMS FOR exaggerate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for exaggerate
exaggerate
/ (ɪɡˈzædʒəˌreɪt) /
verb
to regard or represent as larger or greater, more important or more successful, etc, than is true
(tr) to make greater, more noticeable, etc, than usualhis new clothes exaggerated his awkwardness
Word Origin for exaggerate
C16: from Latin exaggerāre to magnify, from aggerāre to heap, from agger heap
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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exaggerate
1530s, "to pile up, accumulate," from Latin exaggeratus, past participle of exaggerare "heighten, amplify, magnify," literally "to heap, pile, load, fill," from ex- "thoroughly" (see ex-) + aggerare "heap up," from agger (genitive aggeris) "heap," from aggerere "bring together, carry toward," from ad- "to, toward" + gerere "carry" (see gest). Sense of "overstate" first recorded in English 1560s. Related: Exaggerated; exaggerating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper