hyperbole

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Literature, Linguistics

hy·per·bo·le /haɪˈpɜːbəli $ -ɜːr-/ noun [countable, uncountable]  ALa way of describing something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is 夸张（手法） SYN exaggeration It was not hyperbole to call it the worst storm in twenty years. 称它是20年来最大的风暴并不为过。► see thesaurus at language —hyperbolic /ˌhaɪpəˈbɒlɪk◂ $ -pərˈbɑː-/ adjective

Examples from the Corpus

hyperbole• She appropriated slapstick and hyperbole to the delicious purpose of lampooning the fathead who made her life miserable.• Some cynics might dismiss such statements as cosmic hyperbole.• Rick said, with a touch of hyperbole, that it was the best movie he'd ever seen.• It is only slight hyperbole to say that Roy Disney averted a cultural tragedy.• Buried somewhere in all that hyperbole is a good deal of truth.• Twenty-four hours until kick-off and the hyperbole was drifting out of control.• One might forgive the hyperbole in a politician but it is less easy to take from academic or journalistic critics.• Rick Perry, the Texas commissioner of agriculture, is a rancher with an aversion to hyperbole.Origin hyperbole (1400-1500) Latin Greek, “too much of something, hyperbole”, from hyperballein “to go beyond limits”

hy·per·bo·le nounChineseSyllable  

is way a of by something it saying describing Corpus

hyperbole
hy‧per‧bo‧le /haɪˈpɜːbəli $ -ɜːr-/ noun [uncountable and countable]a way of describing something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is
   SYN  exaggeration:
    It was not hyperbole to call it the worst storm in twenty years.
—hyperbolic /ˌhaɪpəˈbɒlɪk◂ $ -pərˈbɑː-/ adjective
     

THESAURUS

■ techniques used in language
   ▪ metaphor a way of describing something by referring to it as something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing: The beehive is a metaphor for human society.
   ▪ simile an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words as or like, for example ‘as white as snow’: The poet uses the simile ‘soft like clay’.
   ▪ irony the use of words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in order to be amusing: ‘I’m so happy to hear that,’ he said, with more than a trace of irony in his voice.
   ▪ bathos a sudden change from a subject that is beautiful, moral, or serious to something that is ordinary, silly, or not important: The play is too sentimental and full of bathos.
   ▪ hyperbole a way of describing something by saying that it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is – used especially to excite people’s feelings: In his speeches, he used a lot of hyperbole. | journalistic hyperbole
   ▪ alliteration the use of several words together that all begin with the same sound, in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry: the alliteration of the ‘s’ sound in ‘sweet birds sang softly’
   ▪ imagery the use of words to describe ideas or actions in a way that makes the reader connect the ideas with pictures in their mind: the use of water imagery in Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ | She uses the imagery of a bird’s song to represent eternal hope.
   ▪ rhetorical question a question that you ask as a way of making a statement, without expecting an answer: When he said ‘how can these attitudes still exist in a civilized society?’, he was asking a rhetorical question.

hyper·boleBrE /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ 🔊NAmE /haɪˈpɜːrbəli/ 🔊 noun [uncountable, countable, usually singular] a way of speaking or writing that makes sth sound better, more exciting, more dangerous, etc. than it really is 夸张 SYN exaggeration

alliteration, euphemism, figure of speech, hyperbole, image, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, paradox