exaggeration

noun

ex·​ag·​ger·​a·​tion ig-ˌza-jə-ˈrā-shən 

plural exaggerations

: an act or instance of exaggerating something : overstatement of the truth

She told us what happened without exaggeration.

: a statement that exaggerates something

a report filled with exaggerations and outright lies

But it's no exaggeration to say that this car has been one of the major linchpins of the burgeoning Asian hot-rod phenomenon.

—Tony Swan

Scads of fibs, exaggerations and misleading statements have been swept up in the dragnet …

—James Poniewozik

Synonyms

• caricature
• coloring
• elaboration
• embellishment
• embroidering
• embroidery
• hyperbole
• magnification
• overstatement
• padding
• stretching

Examples of exaggeration in a Sentence

their exaggeration was such that a rainstorm became a hurricane

Recent Examples on the Web

But the idea that there will be some massive fire sale ahead of March 7 also would be an exaggeration, if for no other reason than the fact the team doesn’t have that many notable pending UFAs. —Pierre Lebrun, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025

Public faith in public health officials has plummeted because of exaggerations and outright falsehoods. —Steve Forbes, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

Each beat is underlined by music or dialogue, and exaggeration is the default mode. —Anupama Chopra, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2025

Hollywood is dark and full of enough monsters without our having to resort to exaggeration. —Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above