exaggerate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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 usual
his new clothes exaggerated his awkwardness
Other Word Forms
- exaggeratingly adverb
- exaggeration noun
- exaggerative adjective
- exaggerator noun
- nonexaggerating adjective
- overexaggerate verb
- unexaggerating adjective
Etymology
Origin of exaggerate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin exaggerātus “heaped up,” past participle of exaggerāre “to heap up,” from ex- ex- 1 + agger “heap” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
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.
But even Bell contends that many business leaders today are exaggerating the technology’s role in layoffs, a practice that’s coming to be known as AI washing.
While there are legitimate concerns about what internet tools may look like in the future, the narrative that any person can develop a scaled social, video, music or marketplace business has been exaggerated, they said.
From MarketWatch
As the series found an audience, a fashion staple that was as lavish and exaggerated as the women emerged from the shadows: the Sky top.
From Los Angeles Times
Some of the online Gen Z pushback focuses on the exaggerated idea that Japan's streets are so spotless people don't even have to wear shoes.
From Barron's
And in more recent years, he became the subject of a string of internet memes, including "Chuck Norris facts", which jokingly exaggerated his strength and toughness.
From BBC
Definitions 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.
