Meaning & use
hyperbole
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountablefigurative
Very obvious exaggeration used to make a point stronger, not to state a literal fact.
Grammar: Use uncountably for the device; count it when naming one exaggerated statement.
Patterns
- hyperbole about something
- use hyperbole to make a point
- it is hyperbole to say something
Calling the wait an eternity was pure hyperbole.
He used hyperbole to make the crowd feel the size of the problem.
Saying she has a million things to do is harmless hyperbole.
Common combinations
- pure hyperbole
- The claim that the hotel was the worst on Earth was pure hyperbole.
- rhetorical hyperbole
- The judge called the accusation rhetorical hyperbole rather than a factual claim.
- hyperbole about danger
- There was a lot of hyperbole about the storm before it arrived.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exaggeration
- A broader word; hyperbole is usually deliberate, bold, and easy to notice as nonliteral.
- overstatement
- Closer to formal speech; it stresses saying more than is strictly true, often milder than hyperbole.
Opposites
Word family
- hyperbolic adjective
- Using or containing exaggerated language.
Commonly confused: hyperbole or hyperbola?
hyperbole vs hyperbola
A hyperbola is a curved mathematical shape; hyperbole is exaggerated speech.
Practice
Choose the best sentence using hyperbole.
Choose one answer.
Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect, so 'total disaster' fits. The other options treat it as a measurable object, exact information, or a physical thing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hyperbole”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.