hyperbole

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.]

(hy-PUHR-buh-lee)

noun
A figure of speech in which obvious exaggeration is used for effect.

Etymology
From Latin, from Greek hyperbole (excess), from hyperballein, from hyper- (beyond) + ballein (to throw)

When you employ hyperbole in your discourse, you are doing what a devil does (to throw), etymologically speaking. The word devil ultimately comes from Greek diaballein (to throw across, slander). Some other words that share the same root are ballistic, emblem, metabolism, parable, problem, parabola, and symbol. What an unlikely bunch of words to claim the same parentage!

Usage
"Kathakali: Where Gods and Demons Come to Play is a thoroughly well-researched book, tautly written, clinically shorn of all stylistic hyperbole and perfectly produced with notes, references, glossary and so on." — Books: When Two Don't Tango, India Today (New Delhi), Jan 14, 2002.

"He once made the mistake of pumping up the volume in a letter sent to a university in Britain, where hyperbole is not the norm. The student was excellent; he called her `outstanding'. The next thing he knew, he was the one getting called -- by the search committee. They wanted to know if the letter had been forged." — Alison Schneider, How to Read Those Academic Job References, The Australian (Sydney), Jul 19, 2000.

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noun

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

n

Definition: exaggeration
Antonyms: understatement

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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.

(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.”

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.

IN BRIEF: An exaggeration, used to make something seem greater or better than it is.

The speaking in a perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but love. — Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Tutor's tip: Note: A "hyperbola" is a curve in mathematics. "Hyperbole" is an exaggeration.

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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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