hyperbole
[ hahy-pur-buh-lee ]
/ haɪˈpɜr bə li /
noun Rhetoric.
obvious and intentional exaggeration.
an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”
Words nearby hyperbole
Compare litotes.
Origin of hyperbole
1520–30; < Greek hyperbolḗ excess, exaggeration, throwing beyond, equivalent to hyper- hyper- + bolḗ throw
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for hyperbole
British Dictionary definitions for hyperbole
hyperbole
/ (haɪˈpɜːbəlɪ) /
noun
a deliberate exaggeration used for effecthe embraced her a thousand times
Derived forms of hyperbole
hyperbolism, nounWord Origin for hyperbole
C16: from Greek: from hyper- + bolē a throw, from ballein to throw
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for hyperbole
hyperbole
[ (heye-pur-buh-lee) ]
An exaggerated, extravagant expression. It is hyperbole to say, “I'd give my whole fortune for a bowl of bean soup.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.