exaggeration
Americannoun
-
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
- nonexaggeration noun
- overexaggeration noun
- self-exaggeration noun
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Essential Literary Terms
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Theodore Roosevelt on "The Man with the Muck Rake" (1906)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Epidemiologist Abby Lippman dubbed such exaggeration of what genes do “geneticization,” and Ball calls geneticization a “hair’s breadth away from eugenics.”
From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026
In “Anomalisa,” Noonan was credited with playing “Everyone Else” — and that wasn’t an exaggeration.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
“By removing these boxed warnings, we ensure that women receive accurate information about hormone therapy—free from exaggeration or fear,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Seyfried’s performance is, no exaggeration, one of the finest and most mesmerizing turns any actor has given across the thriller genre.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026
This title is rather an exaggeration: the resultant theories are not all that grand, nor are they fully unified, as they do not include gravity.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
