Hyperbole

Not to be confused with Hyperbola.

Hyperbole (pronounced /haɪˈpɝbəli/ or "hy-PER-buh-lee"; "HY-per-bowl" is a mispronunciation) is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, and is not meant to be taken literally.

Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is often used in poetry and is a literary device.

Some examples include:

• "He has a brain the size of a pea."
• "I\'m so hungry I could eat a horse."
• "If I\'ve told you once, I\'ve told you a million times."
• "She is one-hundred feet tall."
• "Everything around me feels small."

Antonyms to hyperbole include meiosis, litotes, understatement, and bathos (the \'let down\' after a hyperbole in a phrase).

Derived from the Greek ὑπερβολή (literally \'overshooting\' or \'excess\'), it is a cognate of hyperbola.

See also

Look up hyperbole in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Adynaton
• Irony
• Litotes
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Zillion

References

External links

• A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples
• Audio illustrations of hyperbole as figure of speech

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