hyperbole

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(hī-pûr'bə-lē) pronunciation
n.
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton.

[Latin hyperbolē, from Greek huperbolē, excess, from huperballein, to exceed : huper, beyond; see hyper- + ballein, to throw.]



pronounced hiy-per-bǝ-li, is a figure of speech involving an exaggerated statement that is not meant to be taken literally, e.g. a thousand apologies. It should not be confused with hyperbola, pronounced hiy-per-bǝ-lǝ, a term in geometry.

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noun

    The act or an instance of exaggerating: exaggeration, hyperbolism, overstatement, tall talk. See increase/decrease.

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n

Definition: exaggeration
Antonyms: understatement

hyperbole [hy‐per‐bŏli], exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally. An everyday example is the complaint ‘I've been waiting here for ages.’ Hyperbolic expressions are common in the inflated style of dramatic speech known as bombast, as in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra when Cleopatra praises the dead Antony:

His legs bestrid the ocean: his reared arm
Crested the world.

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hyperbole (hīpûr'bəlē), a figure of speech in which exceptional exaggeration is deliberately used for emphasis rather than deception. Andrew Marvell employed hyperbole throughout "To His Coy Mistress":

An hundred years should go to praiseThine eyes and on thy forehead gaze;Two hundred to adore each breast;But thirty thousand to the rest …


(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.”

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A bold, deliberate overstatement, e.g., "I'd give my right arm for a piece of pizza." Not intended to be taken literally, it is used as a means of emphasizing the truth of a statement.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'hyperbole'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to hyperbole, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Hyperbole.

Hyperbole (play /hˈpɜrbəl/ hy-PUR-bə-lee;[1] Greek: ὑπερβολή, 'exaggeration') is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally.[2]

Hyperboles are exaggerations to create emphasis or effect. As a literary device, hyperbole is often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. An example of hyperbole is: "The bag weighed a ton."[3] Hyperbole helps to make the point that the bag was very heavy, although it is not probable that it would actually weigh a ton.

In rhetoric, some other opposites of hyperbole are meiosis, litotes, understatement and bathos (the 'letdown' after a hyperbole in a phrase).

External links

References

  1. ^ "Hyperbole". Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/hyperbole. Retrieved February 15, 2012. 
  2. ^ "Hyperbole". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hyperbole. Retrieved February 15, 2012. 
  3. ^ Mahony, David (2003). Literacy Tests Year 7. Pascal Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-877085-36-9. 

Translations:

Hyperbole

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - overdrivelse, hyperbol, bevidst overdrivelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
literaire overdrijving

Français (French)
n. - hyperbole

Deutsch (German)
n. - Hyperbel, Übertreibung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ρητορικό) σχήμα καθ' υπερβολήν

Italiano (Italian)
iperbole

Português (Portuguese)
n. - hipérbole (f) (Mat.)

Русский (Russian)
преувеличение

Español (Spanish)
n. - hipérbole

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - hyperbol, överdrift

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
夸张法

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 誇張法

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 과장법, 과장 어구

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 誇張法, 誇張表現

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) غلو, إغراق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אמירה מוגזמת שאין לקבלה כלשונה‬


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