hyperbole

(hī-pûr'bə-lē)
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.]

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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.

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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(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.

For a list of words related to hyperbole, see:

• Devices, Techniques, and Elements - hyperbole: extravagant exaggeration for effect
• Rhetoric and Figures of Speech - hyperbole: extravagant exaggeration for comic or colorful effect or emphasis
• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - hyperbole: extreme exaggeration for effect

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See words rhyming with "hyperbole."

  See crossword solutions for the clue 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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