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exaggerate

eg-ZAJ-uh-rayt/ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/

Formsexaggerates, exaggerating, exaggerated

2 meanings of exaggerate

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive or intransitive
    To make something sound bigger, worse, or more important than it really is.

    Like stretching a small rubber band until it looks much bigger than it is.

    She likes to exaggerate her stories to make them funnier.

    Don't exaggerate the danger. The trail is quite safe.

    Similaroverstate, hyperbolize, stretch

    Oppositeunderstate, downplay, belittle, trivialize

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 2
    adjectivenonstandard
    Made to seem bigger, stronger, or more extreme than the truth.
    And in general, if it is a natural feeling, let it be, but at normal, living levels, not too exaggerate.
    1901, Valentin Matcas, The Human AddictionsHere, exaggerate means overdone, going further than is right.

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Origin

From Latin exaggerare, meaning to heap up or make bigger. It comes from ex- ('up') plus a root meaning 'to heap up', linked to agger ('a pile or heap').