# hyperbole

/haɪˈpɝbəˌɫi/ (US) · /haɪpˈɜːbəlˌi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hyperbole
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. exaggeration

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

the use of exaggeration to make a point or to be funny.

For teachers: the use of overstatement as a rhetorical device or figure of speech, often to provide emphasis or irony.

- Saying you are so hungry you could eat a horse is just hyperbole.
- The politician's speech was filled with enough hyperbole to make his modest achievements sound like world-changing events.

Usage: Commonly used as an uncountable noun when referring to the abstract concept of exaggeration.

### 2. an exaggerated statement

noun · CEFR C2 · Formal

a specific statement that is an extreme exaggeration.

For teachers: a specific instance or example of extreme overstatement.

- The advertisement was full of hyperboles about how the cream could make you look twenty years younger.
- Critics dismissed the author's latest memoir as a collection of self-serving hyperboles rather than a factual account of his life.

Usage: Used as a countable noun when identifying individual instances of overstatement.

## Examples

- Saying you have a million things to do today is pure hyperbole.
- The politician's claim that the new tax law would destroy the entire country was dismissed by critics as reckless hyperbole.
- While the author's reliance on hyperbole made her essays highly entertaining, it occasionally undermined the serious journalistic points she was trying to convey to her readers.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.