verb
exaggerate
ehg-ZAJ-uh-rayt
verb
1
To make something sound bigger, worse, or more dramatic than it really is.
"He exaggerated how long the queue was, just to make a point."
"Don't exaggerate your symptoms to the doctor — just describe them plainly."
How to Use Exaggerate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo stretch the truth by making something seem bigger or more extreme than it is.
Common mistake
Not the same as lying outright — exaggerating usually starts from something true and inflates it.
Common pairings
exaggerate a claim
tend to exaggerate
wildly exaggerate
Word Forms
more exaggerate comparative, exaggerated past tense, exaggerates singular, most exaggerate superlative
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Etymology
From Latin exaggerare, "to heap up" or "pile high" — from ex- ("out, up") + aggerare ("to heap"), from agger ("a mound").