EXAGGERATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does exaggerate mean? 

• EXAGGERATE (verb)
  The verb EXAGGERATE has 2 senses:

1. to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth

2. do something to an excessive degree

  Familiarity information: EXAGGERATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXAGGERATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they exaggerate    ... he / she / it exaggerates   
Past simple: exaggerated   
Past participle: exaggerated   
-ing form: exaggerating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To enlarge beyond bounds or the truth

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

amplify; exaggerate; hyperbolise; hyperbolize; magnify; overdraw; overstate

Context example:

tended to romanticize and exaggerate this 'gracious Old South' imagery

Hypernyms (to "exaggerate" is one way to...):

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "exaggerate"):

overemphasise; overemphasize; overstress (place special or excessive emphasis on)

blow; bluster; boast; brag; gas; gasconade; shoot a line; swash; tout; vaunt (show off)

aggrandise; aggrandize; blow up; dramatise; dramatize; embellish; embroider; lard; pad (add details to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

exaggeration (the act of making something more noticeable than usual)

exaggeration (making to seem more important than it really is)

exaggeration (extravagant exaggeration)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Do something to an excessive degree

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

exaggerate; overdo

Context example:

He overdid it last night when he did 100 pushups

Hypernyms (to "exaggerate" is one way to...):

do; make (engage in)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "exaggerate"):

overpraise (praise excessively)

oversimplify (simplify to an excessive degree)

overleap (defeat (oneself) by going too far)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

exaggeration (the act of making something more noticeable than usual)

 Context examples 

Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) have generated new data on the genetic mechanisms associated with sepsis, which is an exaggerated inflammatory response of the body to infection.

(New study sheds fresh light on the genetic mechanisms involved in sepsis, the leading cause of death in ICUs, University of Granada)

By contrast, they suggest overactive neurons could result in exaggerated simulation of what others might be thinking, which may play a role in social anxiety.

(‘Mindreading’ neurons simulate decisions of social partners, University of Cambridge)

This response is essential for the body’s protection, but its over-activation can cause widespread and exaggerated inflammation that can result in tissue damage, organ failure, and sometimes death.

(Drug might help treat sepsis, NIH)

To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

While activation of the complement system is a key part of the immune system, it must also be kept in check to prevent inappropriate or exaggerated responses.

(Complement Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

An inherited deficiency of coagulation factor VIII characterized by the tendency to spontaneous or exaggerated post-traumatic hemorrhage.

(Hemophilia A, NCI Thesaurus)

His thoughts, his emotions, his passions, all were exaggerated and monstrous.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Ah,” she cried, with an affected and exaggerated start, “you know me, then?”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It includes the exaggerated placental site and placental site nodule or plaque.

(Non-Neoplastic, Non-Molar Trophoblastic Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

An exaggerated response by the immune system to a drug or other substance.

(Hypersensitivity, NCI Dictionary)