SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
hyperbole
noun
Deliberate exaggeration used for effect.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Deliberate exaggeration
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topHyperbole is often an intentional rhetorical device; a false statement is not automatically hyperbole.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See hyperbole in use
Calling the tiny wait 'an eternity' was obvious hyperbole.
When I said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," I was using hyperbole to convey the extent of my hunger.
1 more example
The next draft used hyperbole when Nia wrote that the final drumbeat could have shaken every window in the city.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license