exaggerate

Exaggerate means to make something seem more significant, important, or dramatic than it really is. It involves overstatement or embellishment of qualities, quantities, or consequences. Exaggeration is a common feature of everyday speech, humor, and persuasive writing, where it can heighten interest or convey emphasis.

Etymology: The verb originates from Middle English exaggeren, via Old French exagerer, from Latin exaggerare, ex- + aggerare “to heap up” (from agger “a mound”). The sense “to make something seem larger or more important than it is” developed in English in the late medieval period.

Usage: In rhetoric, exaggeration is a deliberate device, often a type of hyperbole, used to stress a point or entertain. In ordinary conversation it can be harmless, but in factual contexts such as journalism or science, excessive exaggeration may mislead readers or viewers; thus speakers are expected to distinguish between exaggeration and fact. Exaggeration can also be a stylistic feature in fiction, poetry, and advertising.

Examples: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” “This line is a mile long.” “The test was the hardest thing I’ve ever faced.” Such phrases convey intensity or humor rather than literal truth.

See also: hyperbole, overstatement, embellishment, rhetorical device.