exaggerate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to regard or represent as larger or greater, more important or more successful, etc, than is true
-
(tr) to make greater, more noticeable, etc, than usual
his new clothes exaggerated his awkwardness
Other Word Forms
- exaggeratingly adverb
- exaggeration noun
- exaggerative adjective
- exaggerator noun
- nonexaggerating adjective
- overexaggerate verb
- unexaggerating adjective
Etymology
Origin of exaggerate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin exaggerātus “heaped up,” past participle of exaggerāre “to heap up,” from ex- ex- 1 + agger “heap” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One factor reinforcing Block’s motivation for shorting credit is his opinion that there is too much passive investing in the market that automatically exaggerates moves when they come.
From MarketWatch
In a post on Facebook, he wrote that watching the news had made him "concerned" but he also felt, "The news sometimes presents exaggerated or misleading information".
From BBC
Trey picked up the flowers, and with an exaggerated bow, held them out.
From Literature
Alonso is exaggerating to make his point, but other drivers, such as world champion Lando Norris, would - and have - fundamentally agreed with what he is saying.
From BBC
Neither the defence's witnesses nor the prison's doctors believed Jeffries was "malingering" - or intentionally fabricating or exaggerating his symptoms.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
