exaggeration

noun

ex·​ag·​ger·​a·​tion ig-ˌza-jə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce exaggeration (audio)
plural exaggerations
Synonyms of exaggerationnext
: an act or instance of exaggerating something : overstatement of the truth
She told us what happened without exaggeration.
: a statement that exaggerates something
a report filled with exaggerations and outright lies
But it's no exaggeration to say that this car has been one of the major linchpins of the burgeoning Asian hot-rod phenomenon.Tony Swan
Scads of fibs, exaggerations and misleading statements have been swept up in the dragnet …James Poniewozik

Examples of exaggeration in a Sentence

their exaggeration was such that a rainstorm became a hurricane
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Even referring to it as a national convention was an exaggeration, since any Stanley get‑together in Dallas would have been a regional rally with, at most, a few hundred salespeople. Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026 Williams, of course, worked at NBC for nearly three decades, including an 11-year run at NBC Nightly News that ended 2015 after exaggerations and falsehoods were found in some of his reporting, including reports from Iraq, and from New Orleans after it had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026 The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability. Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026 With lush tropical shores that melt away into white sands and tranquil waves, Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands is beautiful enough for billionaires, and that's no exaggeration. Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for exaggeration

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of exaggeration was in 1565

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Cite this Entry

“Exaggeration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exaggeration. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

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