hyperbole

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hyperbole

/haɪˈpɜːbəli/ UK
/hɑjˈpəːbəlɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
/haɪˈpɝbəli/ Canada, US
/hɑeˈpɜːbəli/ Australia
/hɑeˈpøːbəli/ New Zealand

Where it comes from

From Middle English iperbole, yperbole, from Latin hyperbolē, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ, “excess, exaggeration”), from ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-). Doublet of hyperbola.

noun hyperboles

rhetoric, uncountable Deliberate overstatement, particularly extreme overstatement. Hyperbole soars too high, or creeps too low, Exceeds the truth, things wonderful to shew.
Similar: overstatement, exaggeration, auxesis · Opposite: understatement
countable An instance or example of such overstatement. […]and when he ſpeakes, / 'Tis like a Chime a mending. With tearmes vnſquar' / Which from the tongue of roaring Typhon dropt, / Would ſeemes Hyperboles
countable, obsolete A hyperbola.

Translations

Every language

noun rhetorical device

Español	hipérbole
한국어	과장 gwajang
日本語	誇張 kochō
中文	誇張法 /夸张法 kuāzhāngfǎ
हिन्दी	अत्युक्ति atyukti, अतिशयोक्ति atiśyokti
Português	hipérbole
Français	hyperbole
Deutsch	Hyperbel, Übertreibung
Italiano	iperbole
Ελληνικά	υπερβολή ypervolí
Română	hiperbolă
Русский	гипе́рбола gipérbola, преувеличе́ние preuveličénije
العربية	مُبَالَغَة mubālaḡa

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MLA

"hyperbole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hyperbole. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hyperbole. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hyperbole

Chicago

"hyperbole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hyperbole.

BibTeX

@misc{hyperbole_2026,
  title = {hyperbole},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hyperbole},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}