exaggerating

VERB

overstate, embellish

Synonyms

STRONGEST

amplify distort emphasize fabricate falsify heighten inflate magnify misrepresent overdo overdraw overemphasize overestimate

STRONG

boast boost brag caricature color corrupt embroider enlarge exalt expand fudge hike hyperbolize intensify lie misquote pad puff pyramid romance romanticize scam stretch up

WEAK

blow out of proportion build up cook up go to extremes lay it on thick loud talk make too much of misreport pretty up put on

Antonyms

STRONGEST

compress contract decrease ignore lessen play down

STRONG

abridge be modest deprecate lower reduce shrink

WEAK

depreciate minimize understate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Exaggerating the importance of low-float stocks in an index used purely for investment purposes looks awful to many, including my colleague Jason Zweig.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

Exaggerating some of the singer’s vocal qualities — the basso burr and steel-wool growls — he instead adds value while suggesting character.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2023

Exaggerating a short career blanketed with wrongdoing and controversy.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2022

Exaggerating to make a point, I once said that if I acceded to all such requests we could only vote on Thursdays between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2012

Exaggerating the mathematical precision of French thought, it is yet tempered in a manner somewhat uncommon, by the most wholesale picture-writing on which man ever yet ventured.

From The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, September, 1851 by Various