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

Their suffering has often been dismissed as exaggeration, hysteria, or simply the cost of existence. —Jayne Mattingly, Time, 16 Apr. 2025

Unfortunately, this plot element isn’t an exaggeration for dramatic effect. —Maria Flynn, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

Without exaggeration, this candle was the size of three exhaust pipes put together. —Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025

During an October 2024 press conference, Bianco denied that accusing Miller of wanting to kill Trump was an exaggeration. —Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exaggeration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration