hyperbole
obvious and intentional exaggeration.
an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”
Origin of hyperbole
1Other words for hyperbole
Opposites for hyperbole
- Compare litotes.
Words Nearby hyperbole
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hyperbole in a sentence
When I say it knows nothing about these countries, I’m really not using hyperbole.
'Major American Failure.’ A Political Scientist on Why the U.S. Lost in Afghanistan | Philip Elliott | August 18, 2021 | TimeThey were one hyperbole away from rewriting history to say that the first brick thrown at Stonewall was actually Tom Daley hurling his gold medal.
The 2021 Olympics Are an Inspiring, Infuriating Shitshow | Kevin Fallon | July 30, 2021 | The Daily Beast"Everything" is clear hyperbole—the overwhelming majority of things on Earth are not crabs and seemingly have no plans to become them.
On Earth, things evolve into crabs—could the same be true in space? | Doug Johnson | July 29, 2021 | Ars TechnicaMicrosoft squeezed a lot into a 45-minute online launch presentation filled with hyperbole about making Windows feel like “home” and partly derailed by streaming challenges.
Windows 11 will change how you use your PC | Geoffrey Fowler, Tatum Hunter | June 25, 2021 | Washington PostIn an age exhausted from internet hyperbole, that may actually be a reasonable leap.
The Dazzling ‘In the Heights’ May Be the Best Movie Musical in Decades | Kevin Fallon | June 11, 2021 | The Daily Beast
Exaggeration and hyperbole are constant campaign companions, as useful and expected as hammers and saws on a construction site.
Pardon the hyperbole, but there has never been a more aptly titled Good Wife episode than “Hitting the Fan.”
In The Good Wife’s Explosive ‘Hitting the Fan,’ That’s Exactly What Happens | Chancellor Agard | October 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTUnfortunately, Buchanan is not engaging in idle hyperbole or in simple wishful thinking.
Film festival reviews are, as is their wont, often prone to hyperbole.
The Stars of ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ On the Riveting Lesbian Love Story | Marlow Stern | September 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut in a media age of hypercharged hyperbole, there is little room for gray.
The hyperbole of bores it is, to bore Congress for a hundred thousand dollars to go to the Pole!
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870 | VariousThough my long exile had well-nigh cost me the trick of it, I made shift to drop into the stately Indian hyperbole.
The Master of Appleby | Francis LyndeThere is one on the dowager countess of Pembroke (d. 1621), remarkable for its successful use of a somewhat daring hyperbole.
hyperbole is an exaggerated form of statement, and is used to magnify or diminish an object.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism | F. V. N. PainterIt was so ever-present with him that there was neither paradox nor hyperbole in his words: I am never alone when I am alone.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock Thayer
British Dictionary definitions for hyperbole
/ (haɪˈpɜːbəlɪ) /
a deliberate exaggeration used for effect: he embraced her a thousand times
Origin of hyperbole
1Derived forms of hyperbole
- hyperbolism, noun
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
[ (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.
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