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hyperbole

hy·per·bo·le
H h

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [hahy-pur-buh-lee]
    • /haɪˈpɜr bə li/
    • /haɪˈpɜː.bəl.i/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hahy-pur-buh-lee]
    • /haɪˈpɜr bə li/

Definitions of hyperbole word

  • noun hyperbole obvious and intentional exaggeration. 1
  • noun hyperbole an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”. 1
  • noun hyperbole Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. 1
  • noun hyperbole literary device: exaggeration 1
  • noun hyperbole exaggeration, hype 1
  • uncountable noun hyperbole If someone uses hyperbole, they say or write things that make something sound much more impressive than it really is. 0

Information block about the term

Origin of hyperbole

First appearance:

before 1520
One of the 28% oldest English words
1520-30; < Greek hyperbolḗ excess, exaggeration, throwing beyond, equivalent to hyper- hyper- + bolḗ throw

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Hyperbole

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

hyperbole popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 62% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

hyperbole usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for hyperbole

noun hyperbole

  • hype — to stimulate, excite, or agitate (usually followed by up): She was hyped up at the thought of owning her own car.
  • metaphor — a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”. Compare mixed metaphor, simile (def 1).
  • overstatement — to state too strongly; exaggerate: to overstate one's position in a controversy.
  • coloring — The coloring of something is the color or colors that it is.
  • distortion — an act or instance of distorting.

Antonyms for hyperbole

noun hyperbole

  • compression — the act of compressing or the condition of being compressed
  • decrease — When something decreases or when you decrease it, it becomes less in quantity, size, or intensity.
  • lessening — to become less.
  • understatement — the act or an instance of understating, or representing in a weak or restrained way that is not borne out by the facts: The journalist wrote that the earthquake had caused some damage. This turned out to be a massive understatement of the devastation.

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See also

Matching words

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