Hyperbole
noun /hʌɪˈpɜːbəli/ — Obvious exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.
Definition
A figure of speech involving exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis or dramatic effect — not intended to be taken literally, but to convey the intensity of feeling or the magnitude of something.
Beyond the definition
Hyperbole is the figure of passion — the extreme statement that communicates intensity rather than accuracy. 'I've told you a million times', 'I'm dying of thirst', 'this is the best meal I've ever eaten' — hyperbole is the language of the fully felt experience. The exaggeration is not a lie but a calibration of feeling.
Origin & history
From Greek hyperbole (excess), from hyper- (over) + ballein (to throw). The throw that goes over — exceeds the target by design. Used in rhetoric since antiquity as one of the figures of amplification.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Her hyperbole was so constant that her genuinely serious statements were sometimes missed.
'The most important election of our lifetimes' is the political hyperbole that appears in every election cycle.
He used hyperbole carefully — deployed rarely, it landed; overused, it lost its power.
Synonyms
exaggeration, overstatement, amplification
Antonyms
understatement, litotes, meiosis
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Exhausted witness on a bench
An adult sits on a public park bench, head in hands, surrounded by a swirling, chaotic flow of people.
The representation of the person feeling the 'weight of the world' is a visual hyperbole. They are not literally carrying the planet, but the overwhelming visual scale of the crowd is used to convey the extreme magnitude and intensity of their exhaustion.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration