sensationalize

American  

[sen-sey-shuh-nl-ahyz] / sɛnˈseɪ ʃə nlˌaɪz /

especially British, sensationalise

verb (used with object)

sensationalized, sensationalizing

1. to make sensational.

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sensationalize British  

/ sɛnˈseɪʃənəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to cause (events, esp in newspaper reports) to seem more vivid, shocking, etc, than they really are

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Other Word Forms

• desensationalize
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of sensationalize

First recorded in 1850–55; sensational + -ize

Explanation

To sensationalize is to exaggerate a story to make it more thrilling or alarming. Newspapers sometimes sensationalize a headline in order to sell more papers. TV, online news sources, and other media use this tactic all the time, sensationalizing the details of a news story, the headline describing it, or the images that accompany it. Watching the news can make you think that your city is becoming more dangerous, but it's not always true — often, the media has sensationalized a few crimes and made it seem that way. Sensationalize shares a Latin root with sensation that means "feeling."

Example Sentences

And especially because Karen was the younger sister of Kelsey Grammer — then a 20-year-old Juilliard flunkie — it is easy to sensationalize her final moments.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2025

“Oftentimes, people—especially young scientists—want to call old discoveries by new names to sensationalize them,” she says.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2024

Gladstone, who was cast in the series in 2022, told Deadline in an interview that all involved with “Under the Bridge” took pains not to sensationalize its true-crime topic.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2024

There is an almost abstract quality to the sound that is supposedly “in camera,” but part of the point of that is to not sensationalize the use of sound when possible.

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2024

They tend to sensationalize — to appeal to the voyeuristic tendencies people have.

From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Millard, Max