exaggerate[verb]Synonyms: overstate, amplify, embellish, embroider, enlarge, overemphasize, overestimate
Antonyms: understate
Related Idioms: blow up out of (all) proportion, draw the long bow, make the eagle scream
Related Words: hyperbolize,
overcolor,
romance,
romanticize
English Thesaurus: exaggerate, blow something (up) out of all proportion, make too much of something, overemphasize, overstate, ... [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
ex‧ag‧ge‧rate /ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt/
verb [intransitive and transitive][
Date: 1500-1600;
Language: Latin;
Origin: past participle of exaggerare 'to make into a pile', from agger 'pile']
to make something seem better, larger, worse etc than it really is:
I couldn’t sleep for three days – I’m not exaggerating.it’s easy/difficult/impossible to exaggerate something It’s difficult to exaggerate the importance of sleep. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
exaggerate to say that something is much bigger, better, worse, more important etc than it really is:
He exaggerated his own achievements. These claims are wildly exaggerated. The grass in the garden was about three feet high – I’m not exaggerating.blow something (up) out of all proportion to say a situation or event is a lot worse or much more serious than it really is:
The problem really has been blown up out of all proportion.make too much of something to treat something that has happened as though it were more important or serious than it really is – used especially when saying that you should not do this:
She loved the fact that he’d sent her flowers, but she didn’t want to make too much of it in case it meant nothing. It's probably nothing – children often get these strange ideas. You shouldn’t make too much of themoveremphasize (
also overemphasise British English) to say that a part of something is more important and has a bigger effect than is really true, especially in relation to other things:
The importance of cleanliness in the preparation of food cannot be overemphasized. Historians have tended to overemphasize the role of the monarchy in British history.overstate to describe something in a way that makes it sound more important or serious than it really is:
Sometimes she overstates her case. The importance of advertising can hardly be overstated.overplay to make something seem more important than it is, in the way that you talk about it or treat it:
The media has greatly overplayed this issue.glorify to make someone or something seem much better, less harmful etc than they really are – used when you think it is wrong to do this:
His films glorify violence. My father never glorified war. These images were produced in order to glorify the empire.talk something up informal to talk about something in a way that makes it appear more important, interesting, or successful than it really is, especially to get someone’s support or interest:
At the interview, he talked up his experience of working in sales. The government tried to talk up the threat posed by these countries, in order to justify an increase in military spending.overrated adjective if you think someone or something is overrated, you think they are not nearly as good as people claim:
I think her books are overrated. As a player he’s overrated.idealized adjective an idealized image, view, picture etc of someone or something shows them as being much better than they really are:
His books give an idealized picture of English rural life. her friend’s idealized view of marriage [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲