hyperbole

hy·per·bo·le  (h-pûrb-l)

n.

A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton.

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[Latin hyperbol, from Greek huperbol, excess, from huperballein, to exceed : huper, beyond; see hyper- + ballein, to throw; see g^wel- in Indo-European roots.]

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hyperbole [hie-per-bol-ee]

Noun

a deliberate exaggeration of speech or writing used for effect, such as he embraced her a thousand times [Greek huper over + ballein to throw]

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hyperbole

1. an obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “She’s as big as a house.” Cf. litotes. — hyperbolic, adj.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

hyperbole - extravagant exaggeration exaggeration figure of speech, trope, image, figure - language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense

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hyperbole

noun exaggeration, hype (informal) overstatement, enlargement, magnification, amplification